Scarlet
by xxLexia
Summary: He glared at her with murderous intent of the likes she's never seen. She knew she was screwed, she might as well go down fighting right? She couldn't face all the pirates there at once, but if she was just against one, she felt like she might be able to hold her ground in a fight. [OC centered w/ eventual pairing, Whitebeard Pirates centered]
1. Chapter 1

Ahh so this is my first fic that will be multichaptered, I really like this story (although the entire plot isn't even planned out yet) and I really like this OC. So I hope you enjoy this too! The words italicized and in brackets are songs that I thought fit the mood of that particular part in the story. All the songs listed in this chapter are covers by Vitamin String Quartet.

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own One Piece.

**EDIT: **Okay, after rereading this first chapter I realize how cheesy it's kind of written out, and I myself actually don't like it. It's only been several weeks since I've began writing this story but I can already see it myself how much my writing has improved since I wrote the first chapter. So please, give this fic a chance even though the first chapter is kind of just 'eh', because I personally think I've gotten a lot better at this whole fic-ing thing. Maybe one day when I'm done writing this story I'll come back and rewrite this chapter, but for now I'll keep it for convenience sake. So yea, if you find the writing unbearable, just sort of skim through this chapter and really start reading from the next? (: Also keep in mind that my writing is improving with each chapter I write.

* * *

_**[**__Radioactive__**]**_

It was a warm evening just like any other on the exotic island she was stationed to. She had been assigned to this island for a case about an underground drug market base about 3 months ago. She was finally close to shutting down the operation, although truth be told, she didn't care whether some low lifers sold drugs or not, finally putting a close to this case would mean she could sail the open seas once again.

Her long, red hair swayed from side to side, dancing across the back of her marine issued uniform as she walked back to her crew. They were waiting on the beach by their ship, one by one they noticed her walking towards them, their faces filled with excitement.

"Captain! Are we finally going to take action? We've been itching to kick ass for weeks now!" A subordinate called out to her, his voice laced with suspense.

"Yes, I finally filled in the paperwork for the case and made a call to the higher-ups this morning, they gave us the go." She answered cooly and professionally. At first glance one wouldn't assume she was a captain of a ship and crew, she had a short stature and was fairly young. She also knew that most men in the Navy wouldn't take her seriously just because she was a woman, she took it upon herself to prove them wrong and lead with an iron fist and confidence. Surely enough, a few years after joining the Navy, she quickly climbed the ranks and was given the title captain. She knew she was strong and she had confidence only in her strength and her strength alone. To be quite honest, she didn't need a crew, she could have taken on this case by herself, but alas, that wasn't allowed, apparently not part of the 'protocol'. "What are you waiting for men, let's go!" She yelled, lifting their morale.

Roars of excitement surged through her crew, "You heard her! Follow Captain!"

Sensing battle would soon near, she tied her hair in a high pony tail, the tips of her scarlet hair swishing back and forth just below the Marines emblem on the back of her jacket. "Move out!" She ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" Her crew replied with vigor. A small smile danced on her lips. Although she never cared to have a crew, she couldn't deny that their loyalty and trust in her was endearing, of course she had to earn it by beating up each of their asses individually whenever they challenged her position as captain... but it was sweet nonetheless.

* * *

The sun had fallen and the moon was high in the sky as they arrived at the drug operations base. Her crew was silently following her as she approached the entrance. She had to admit, it was well hidden and took her about a month to find when she had first arrived at the island, after that it was merely observing and gathering information for their remaining stay there.

Without hesitation she kicked open the door with far too much force than to be expected from her small body. A few lackeys whipped around and cocked their guns at her and her subordinates. Her crew was just as quick to react and lifted their guns as well, both sides filled with immense tension, but no one fired.

"e-X Pirate Crew, you are under arrest for the possession, distribution, and selling of illegal drugs. If you don't want to be hurt, I suggest you surrender and come quietly." One of the pirates growled at her and was ready to shoot her, but she didn't flinch. Before he could do anything, one of her own men had shot the offender and he fell to the ground, motionless. A smirk graced her lips, yes, although the standard marine training was fairly good, she took it as her own responsibility to hone in on each individuals skill when she had received her crew. Aside from helping each of them shine at their best skill, she made them master the fundamentals of combat and firearms. Hey, if she was going to be stuck with a crew she might as well have a useful crew right? "Zayleck, I appreciate your eagerness but we'd like to get as many of them alive as we can."

The man who had shot the pirate threw a sheepish grin at her. "Sorry 'bout that ma'am."

The pirates in the room snarled and glared at them. One of them shouted, "Damn Marines! Kill every last one of them! Last thing we need is Captain on our asses about this!" After the outburst, many more outcries of, "Murder them!", "Fuckin' slaughter them!" resonated from that side of the room.

She closed her eyes and sighed, she had no interest in the low rank scum. "Soldiers, clean things up here, arrest as many as you can, kill if you need to." That was all the orders her subordinates needed before charging at the criminals. She didn't need to waste her energy here, the low-ranked pirates proved no match for her crew and were all in handcuffs before they knew it.

As the sounds of yelling had died down from both sides, she finally moved from her place at the door. The pirates were in cuffs on the floor for twenty minutes now and it seemed they had finally given up thrashing around with futile effort.

"Just wait till Boss gets here! He'll kill your stupid ass!" One of the pirates spat at her. This caught her interest, she walked over to the pirate and stood in front of him, her short body looming over him since he was lying on the floor.

She lifted a leg and swiftly brought it down to the side of his head, digging it into his skull, he cried out in agony. "Oh? Your boss? And where would this boss of yours be right now?" She prodded as she continued to rub the bottom of her shoe harshly into his head.

"L-like I'd tell you bitch! Who the f-fuck do you think you are huh?" The man under her shoe said between gasps of air.

"I think I'm the 'bitch' who will throw all your asses in jail." She said with no hesitation in her words. With her foot still on the mans head, she twisted her body to grab a sabre from one of her soldiers. She turned back around and squatted down, grabbing a bunch of the pirate's hair and lifting his head, bringing the curve of the sword to his neck, drawing blood. "Now tell me where your captain is. You low-ranks are nothing you hear me? We can kill you whenever we want, you guys mean nothing- nothing at all, arresting you is mere convenience on our part. So if you tell me where your captain is, the guy we actually want, I'll grant you the privilege of living your pitiful life in a dingy prison cell instead of slowly severing your heard, right her right now." Her voice was laced with malice, she didn't have time to deal with stupid lackeys, she would do what she had to, to complete this mission and finally set sail again.

The man yelped underneath her bloodthirsty gaze and sword, and surrendered. "H-he's on the north beach, waiting for new shipments to arrive..." He said, words barely above a whisper.

She smirked, that was faster than expected, all bark but no bite huh. "Perfect." She dropped his head to the floor as she withdrew the sword from his neck. "Men, take these pirates to the east shoreline of the island, I had called a Marine ship to take them to one of the bases to be held in captivity before sent to impel down. Once all of them are handed over, you are also to guide the other soldiers to this base to investigate further into the case. I'll go find and kick their bosses ass, stay out of it and just follow the orders I gave, understood?"

A "Yes ma'am!" was shouted in unison and her subordinates began their work, hauling the criminals up and dragging them out the door.

* * *

She had been swiftly running through the exotic forest trying to reach the north beach shoreline in time to catch the pirate's boss. After a couple minutes of running, the trees started to sparse out and she was met with the silhouette of a large man awaiting a quickly approaching, unnamed ship. So she had made it just in time. She sported a wild grin as she swiftly charged the man from behind. What? Pirates always played unfair, why couldn't she?

He turned his head around only in time to see a fist connect with his jaw, blowing him into the shallow sea water. For a normal person the water wouldn't do much, but she was well aware that this pirate captain used some sort of Devil Fruit ability. So with that one swift, powerful punch she had effectively knocked the man out and immobilized him if he were to regain consciousness. She looked up to see that the ship that was once approaching the shore had turned course and was retreating. From the corner of her eye she saw a Marine ship target the unnamed ship dead-on and fire a few cannonballs into it. The men on board, presumably low-life drug dealers, started jumping their ship to escape, as it would sink in no time. A futile effort. Really.

She pulled out a mini den den mushi from her coat and called the captain of the other marine ship she had called to pick up the pirates. "Buru buru.. buru buru.. kachank! Captain Friole. What is it soldier?"

Her eye twitched, she wasn't just a soldier, she was a captain too... "I finished things up with their big boss, I'm on the north shoreline, where are _you_? _Soldier_?"

"I'm heading towards their base of operations, your subordinate, soldier Zayleck is leading me, _soldier_."

"I see. Well, would you call your crew and tell them to pick up the man that's lying unconscious in the water by the north shoreline? And oh, put him in some kairouseki cuffs. I'm counting on you to clean things up here, my job here is done. That'll be all _soldier_." She hung up on the call, she had nothing more to say to the man and she knew he would follow through with her requests, if only to make his part in the case seem professional.

She sighed, contented with her work. It had been three long months docked at the island. She liked it here, and the villagers were very kind to them, but three months on land was far too much for her, she loved being on the ocean. She smiled. It was the only reason she became a marine in the first place... she wanted to sail the seas with freedom... becoming a marine was her best option. It wasn't like she could just join a pirate crew and become an outlaw when she was fourteen. Even though sailing the seas as a marine was a bit too restricting for her tastes, it had it's perks too. She turned on her heel and started walking towards the south side of the island, where the village was. She would tell them the good news.

* * *

It was well into the early hours of the morning and the village celebration was still going on. The case had been long cleaned up and now only her and her crew remained on the island with the villagers. She smiled warmly at the sight of the villagers dancing, singing, and drinking, her crew joining in on the fun too. The pirates on the island weren't really interested in the villagers when they were there, they had simply used the island as a secret base. That didn't mean they didn't raid the village of supplies when they ran out of stock. The poor villagers had suffered a lot for even months before she and her crew arrived.

She was at peace, observing the many happy people beaming with joy. She loved this island, she had called it home for the last three months, and their voyage tomorrow would be bittersweet.

The party dragged on with the same amount of energy and vigor as when it started. The girl sighed and pulled the hair tie out of her long red hair, letting it down and releasing the tension on the roots of her hair. Ouch. She cursed internally. She stood up and began to leave, seeking to get a little sleep before they embark in the morning.

She turned to face her crew, "Men! We'll be setting sail in the morning! I don't care what you do, but you better be alert for tomorrow... we embark! I'll be retiring for the night, we have a long day ahead of us! Goodnight." As she turned to walk away she heard a few 'Goodnight Captain!'s.

* * *

_**[**__Through the Fire and Flame__**]**_

She woke up in the hut one of the villagers had offered her the night before. Her head throbbed and her eyelids were heavy. She definitely didn't get enough sleep last night. She rolled out of bed and stumbled to get up, walking out of the one room hut into the bright morning sun.

Something was off, she knew most of the villagers on the island would be sleeping now, but it was far too quiet, even the wind was still. Her instincts told her something wasn't right and she started running towards the core of the village. Her heart nearly stopped when she recognized all too familiar faces from infamous wanted posters getting clearer as she approached. This couldn't have been happening. Her stomach felt like it was going to flip. She stopped running and decided that slowly approaching whilst being hidden was a better option. She saw two men talking to the head chief of the village who looked so filled with grief.

"We're not interested in hurting or attacking your village, we just want to restock our supplies yoi." One of the men spoke. She recognized him as Marco, Marco the Phoenix, Whitebeard's right hand man. Cool sweat started to form on her brow.

"I'm very sorry but our village is very low on supplies, we've been forced to accommodate a group of pirates who were using our island. They had only been arrested yesterday, even the Marines are still here. We're still recovering from all of it."

_Idiot!_ She stopped breathing at this point. She concealed her presence as much as she could as her mind ran a mile a minute.

"Hmm? Marines? They're still here?" The other man said with a grin. She knew his face too, it was Fire Fist Ace. Damn! How'd this happen? Two of the most wanted men had showed up with their subordinates some time when she was still sleeping. Couldn't she get a break? She just dealt with a three month long mission up until yesterday! She tried to calm her racing heart, the Whitebeard men weren't aware that she and her crew were there up until now. That meant that they must've docked on the opposite side of the island. This was good, she could get her men and escape without confrontation. She was confident and strong, but not an idiot, she wouldn't fight battles she knew she couldn't win, going against all those pirates was stupid.

She could almost hear the village chief's sweat and wide eyes as he spoke. "Ah, but you shouldn't cause them trouble, you can look through our forests for beasts you can take as food but please do not disturb the Marines I beg you! They are our saviours!" The man pleaded.

"I can assure you, we're never the ones to start fights." The Second Division Commander spoke again. She could already tell she didn't like him, she could hear the arrogance in his voice.

"Thanks for your kindness, we'll take what we need and get out of your hair as soon as we can yoi." She thought it would finally be her chance to get her men and high-tail it out of there but her blood ran cold when he spoke again. "Now you, hiding behind that house, whaddya want." No way, he sensed her? How? She could almost feel his gaze through the wall of the house. She steadied her breathing, no, she was not a coward, she wouldn't run away now that he noticed her.

She stepped out from behind the house, glare heavy, and balled up fists at her side. Most would find her quite threatening, but her appearance only received her a quirked eyebrow in return.

"Oh? A villager?" The First Commander prodded.

The village chief's eyes widened as he spotted her, "A-ah yes, don't pay her any mind, try to understand that we have been dealing with ruthless pirates for a very long time now." She realized that he was trying to protect her and she appreciated it, but it still kind of pissed her off how she was being brushed aside. She hadn't realized until then that she was still wearing only her under shirt and a pair of shorts the village had provided her to sleep in, she silently thanked God she wasn't self-aware enough in the morning to have changed into her Navy uniform.

She then saw another man approach her, he was quite large in both senses, and was not easy on the eyes to say the least. "Zehahaha, a village girl? She's cute," he leaned down, she could almost smell his revolting breath on her, "how 'bout entertaining us a bit, love?" That was all that was needed to set her off, she freaking hated gross men like him. Before either of the commanders could interject on the man's advances, she thrust a powerful punch into the man's gut, her fist sinking deep into his abdomen, knocking the air out of him. He fell to his knees, but his face wasn't the only one that was filled with surprise and shock.

"Just a village girl? Bullshit!" The man with the orange hat strode towards the scene and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, "Who're you huh?" Fiery eyes drove daggers into hers as he glared at her. Was he seriously mad at her? The creep had come onto her and he got what he deserved, she didn't see why he would be so upset. She guessed that the part about him being extremely loyal and protective of his brethren wasn't just an assumption written down on his profile that she had read awhile back.

After all the commotion, the noise had died down to even quieter than before, no one made a move to speak, awaiting what she would do.

"Scum got what he deserved, that's all."

"Who the hell are you calling scum!"

Marco took a step toward them, "Oi Ace, she's just a village-"

"Captain!"

_Fuck_. No no no no. That didn't just happen. Her crew did not just rush onto the scene, and they did not just call her Captain, and they did not just aim their weapons at the Whitebeard pirates.

The man gripping her shirt turned his face back to her, "Captain huh? So you're the captain of the marines on this island? You're not much, never would've guessed." He said with a condescending smirk on his face.

Her glare then turned bloodthirsty, she hated it. She hated it when people would look down on her, literally and metaphorically. "Let. Go." She said with all the malice she could muster up.

"I don't think so. You just hurt one of Whitebeard's men, my subordinate to be exact. You know what that means right?"

"Get bent." She spat back.

He glared at her with murderous intent of the likes she's never seen. She knew she was screwed, she might as well go down fighting right? She couldn't face all the pirates there at once, but if she was just against one, she felt like she might be able to hold her ground in a fight.

"Men, get to the ship and leave, don't look back." She addressed her men while still keeping her eyes on the man in front of her. She wasn't about to get innocent lives killed over some stupid quarrel.

"But Captain-"

"That's an ORDER! Now go! I don't want your blood on my hands! Just report the issue to one of the higher-ups when you get the chance!" She shouted. They hesitated a bit, but then solemnly started to rush out of the scene, intending to follow their captain's orders.

"Huu, how noble of you." The man, Fire Fist Ace, in front of her smirked.

"That doesn't mean much coming from you. Now, GET. OFF. ME!" She shouted as she launched a fist at his face. It connected. Hard. He let go of her, probably from the shock, and was thrown a couple feet back from the force.

"Haki?" He grunted, as he rubbed his cheek and stood up. "Interesting. Small girl packs a punch." He turned away from her, "Marco leave this one to me, get some supplies and we'll head out."

The man he was addressing was brought out of his surprise and replied, "Roger that. Let's go men. Sorry Chief, but it seems our crew always runs into trouble when we run into the Navy. I suggest you evacuate your village people."

The village chief looked wearily at him but did as he was told. He resigned to the fact long ago that pirates were pirates and they would do whatever the hell they wanted. He just hoped that the young girl who had freed his people would be okay.

* * *

Everyone else had evacuated the village almost two hours ago. She and Fire Fist Ace were still going at it, almost evenly matched. He was very strong, she would admit that much, but she herself was a skilled user of Haki. Despite her advantage, she couldn't get the upper hand in the fight. She was beginning to feel the overwhelming exhaustion weighing down her limbs, she was about to collapse at any moment but she couldn't afford that fate. She still had seas to sail and the world to explore, she be damned if she died in a fight over something so stupid! But as much as she was trying to convince herself to keep fighting, she could feel her body giving out underneath her. With the last bit of her strength, she subdued the fire on his fist as it met contact with her jaw. She blacked out from the sheer physical force of the punch. Exhausted, she let the darkness cloud her vision and let her drift into unconsciousness. Her last thought being she prayed that she would wake up okay, hell she just hoped she would wake up.

* * *

_**[**Sweet Child O'Mine**]**_

She awoke surrounded by a much different setting than where she had blacked out. The ceiling above her was made of wood and she was lying on a bed. She closed her eyes and relaxed, listening to the ocean waves outside the small port window and felt them slowly rock the ship back and forth. She lay there, still and quiet until the grogginess of sleep began to leave her body. It was only then that she shot up out of the bed to really take in where she was. She was on a boat, definitely a boat, but it wasn't her boat- she knew that much. What the hell happened after she lost? Her crew should be long gone by now, but they wouldn't have had enough time yet to report the situation... and she couldn't think of anyone else who would pick her up from the island other than the Navy. She looked down at her sprawled out limbs, her injuries were bandaged and treated professionally, so an ally picked her up? She was also wearing clean clothes too; a button-down denim top, probably belonging to a man since it was a few sizes too big, and orange, soft cotton shorts. She swung her still-too-sore legs over the side of the bed and saw that there was a pair of simple brown flip flops waiting for her to use.

As soon as she steadied herself and was about to start walking to the door, it opened to reveal a face she wasn't too keen on seeing.

"Oh, so you woke up, that's good, I brought you food, yoi." Marco said as he entered the room holding a bowl of what looked like some sort of stew. Her knees began to shake, threatening to give out under her. So she was on the Whitebeard ship? Why? Were they going to kill her? But if that was the plan they could have killed her when she was unconscious, and they also treated her injuries so no, that didn't make sense. Then was she a hostage? What for? But that didn't make sense either, they gave her clean clothes and food to eat.

She began to back away from him, fear evident on her face. She was too weak to put up a fight right now, she had no choice but to escape from here. She stumbled backwards on her shaking legs, but before she could hit the ground she was caught by something.

"You're still hurt, you shouldn't try anything. Don't worry I won't hurt you." He half carried her, half dragged her back to the bed she had first woken up on and sat her back down on it. He turned around and picked up the bowl of stew he had haphazardly placed on a dresser and brought it back to her. He stood in front of her, she kept her eyes on the floor in front of her, refusing to look at him.

"Eat."

"No."

"It's not poisoned."

"I don't care."

Probably irked, the man knelt down on one knee so he could look her in the face, "Eat, you have to. You've been out for three days now."

Her eyes widened, "T-three..." She felt sweat starting to form a top her brow. So she was out for that long, and they have been taking care of her...? Why? "Am I some sort of hostage or something?"

"If you were a hostage you'd be tied up don't you think, yoi?" That stopped her train of thoughts in it's tracks. So she was right earlier... but that didn't answer any of her questions. He sighed and looked at her, "We left you on the island and were about to leave, Pops wanted to know who roughed Ace up so we brought you back to the ship, but you've been out for days now." He must have known what she was thinking because that cleared up most of her thoughts. _Oh God_. Did Whitebeard want to kill her himself? "Y'know, I think now would be a good time to see him, everybody's out on the deck anyway." He placed the bowl of stew down, since she wasn't eating it anyway, and began to grab her wrist to pull her up.

She shrieked. Loud. She wasn't the type to display such emotions usually, but she was desperate, the last thing she wanted was to face the man who was going to crush her like a bug. She swiped her hand out of the man's grip and pushed herself up against the other side of the bed, back flat against the wall. He stared at her, a small frown on his relaxed face. He went to grab her again but she crawled out of his grasp to the other side of the bed. This little game went on for about a minute before Marco was fed up and lunged at her, grabbing her waist and throwing her over his shoulder. He started to walk out of the room, all the while with the girl punching his back, admittedly, pretty hard for someone so weak.

"Stop! Please... don't want to..." It started as a shout but died down to a whisper.

"Sorry. Pops wanted to see you, so he's gonna see you, yoi." She felt his pace slow down to a complete stop. She raised her head to look around, seeing a couple faces that looked familiar, and many that weren't, but what they all shared in common was that they all stopped what they were doing and put their full attention on her. The panic rose in her throat. "Pops, she woke up awhile ago, you wanted to see her right?" Her stomach almost fell out of her throat.

"Yes, place her down Marco." A booming voice from behind her bellowed. If she ever wanted to cry so hard in her life, it would be right now. Marco placed her on the floor, facing him. That was it. Her life was over. She froze in fear, she didn't dare to look up at the great Whitebeard's face. Instead of looking at the terrifyingly large man in front of her, she opted to looking around at the pirate crew more. Out of the many, she spotted Ace, covered in as many bandages as her, glowering at her. Okay, so he was still entirely too pissed at her, she let her gaze fall to the floor and kept it there.

The entire deck was silent as Whitebeard assessed the small figure in front of him. She didn't dare move, feeling like she would be killed if she did.

"Young girl... what are you?"

What? What was she? So he wasn't going to destroy her right away? She slowly lifted her gaze up towards him, her heart was pounding against her ribs. Her lips trembling, she felt compelled to answer him, God knows why.

"...I'm a Marine Captain... sir." Her voice barely above a whisper.

"How old are you, young girl?"

"...Nineteen..."

"What is your name, girl?" He stared intently at her, as if he had something planned in his mind.

She hesitated to answer, why did he care? Was this some sort of psychological torture he put hostages through before he killed them? Humanize them, then kill them in front of the entire crew? With her last bit of confidence which she thought was long gone, she answered.

"Sir, my name is... Akane."

* * *

So what do you think so far? Review! :)


	2. Chapter 2: Dark Paradise

I was thinking of holding onto this chapter until i wrote out the third but I couldn't help it, I'm too impatient! I didn't expect anyone to really care about this fic but already a few people said they like it and are waiting for updates so I wrote this up yesterday from the happiness. :P It took me awhile to edit this chapter and tweak it, I am my own beta so I'm extra careful when I go over it.

Again, I'm writing this fic as I go, but with the more I write, the more the plot grows in my mind and I'm actually really excited about writing this fic. (:

**Disclaimer:** I see a lot of people putting this before every chapter, will the chapter be removed if this isn't placed? If so, I do not own the world of One Piece.

* * *

_**[**__Eye Water – Shingeki no Kyojin__**]**_

She tried to control her shaking as much as she could as she waited for what he would do. It seemed the entire crew was held in suspense as well. It felt like all the self-assurance she once held was quickly wilting away.

"Akane huh... Gurararara" His laugh bellowed and she could feel the vibrations seep into the area surrounding them. "When I first saw one of my sons so roughed up, I thought I would need to step in myself. You've piqued my interest brat. Now tell me, who are your parents?" He took a swig of something that was in a very large jar.

_Eh? _The question caught her off guard. That was all? Akane didn't really know how to react or what to make of the situation, if she continued the conversation would she be spared if for just a little bit longer?

"My mother's name was Elizabeth... from West Blue." She responded curtly. She wasn't too fond of bringing up her past, but if it meant getting out of this alive... she was willing to talk.

"She passed away?"

"Killed, specifically. Bunch of pirates attacked our village when I was younger... she protected me." Her gaze lowered, as she remembered the day. She had been only six when the attack happened, her mother, Elizabeth, had stalled and gave Akane time to escape with an adult villager in exchange for her own life. Since that day, she would always hold her mother as the most dearest person to her heart. Her hand absentmindedly drifted towards the gold chain around her neck. It was the only thing she had left of her mother, a gold chain with a golden heart pendent attached. On the back of the golden heart, engraved in it was a symbol. She had never found out what the odd symbol meant, her mother told her she would tell her when she was older, but now she'd never know. It was a sideways 's' with three stripes through it; two through the two concaves of the 's' and one down the middle. She was brought out of her thoughts when the great man in front of her spoke again.

"Your father?"

She frowned, "Don't know, don't care."

He let out that odd laugh again at her childish response. Well, the girl was just a child after all. Something was different about the girl than the usual Marines, he already had a strong hunch about what it was but decided that it'd be much too soon to act on it. He contemplated the different courses of action he could take and then finally spoke.

"We'll be arriving at the next island in three weeks, we'll decide what to do with you then."

The audience observing the whole ordeal choked on their own breath, she spotted a certain hot-headed pirate's jaw drop wide open in shock.

"But Pops! She-"

"No 'but's, Ace." He then turned to address her and the rest of his crew, "This young lady, Akane, will be traveling with us as a _guest_ until we reach the next island. I expect you to treat her as you would any other guest, my sons."

_What?_ She really couldn't understand how he arrived at that point, but she was relieved by the verdict. With no immediate threat, she could now plan her escape out of her enemies grasps. She mentally thanked the man in front of her for his mercy.

With the orders given to them, the conversation was brought to an end. The Whitebeard crew looked at each other with a bit of confusion, but began to disperse, returning to their usual duties. It really was like a nightmare turned miracle for Akane, her fate went from probably being brutally crushed under the Strongest Man Alive's foot, to treated as a guest. With the fear beginning to leave her body, her shoulders slumped. She was still exhausted and injured from her fight with Fire Fist, she hadn't realized how much she exerted herself in the battle until then, but in her relaxed state she noticed how tired and hungry she was, despite having apparently slept for three days straight. Whitebeard must have taken notice because he spoke up again.

"Ace, take her to the mess hall, she needs to eat." Ace stood dumbfounded when he was told his orders, as did Akane.

Okay, maybe the old man _did_ have it out for her. There was no other reasonable explanation as to why out of all the people on board he would tell Ace to guide her. The panic that was ebbing away just a few moments before rose up again in her throat. _Damn!_ Why did she have to be so injured? She felt pathetic. She spent years training and getting stronger, only relying on herself as a crutch, and now in only a few short days she was reduced to having being carried around like a sack of potatoes! It was humiliating and her blood boiled. She knew she should have been thankful because she wasn't immediately killed, but she had an odd feeling that these three upcoming weeks would be the longest in her life. That's saying a lot, considering she was taken under Vice Admiral Garp's wing for Haki training a few years ago. She shuddered at the painful memories.

Ace controlled his emotions and let his features relax. He would follow his Pop's orders, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy doing them. He looked over to the girl that was still sitting on the deck in front of Pop's chair, the tips of her scarlet hair lightly touching the wooden floor. He took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, and began to walk over to the 'guest'. His eyes darkened as he remembered their battle. She definitely wasn't anywhere near strong enough to destroy the Moby Dick, but she could probably reek some havoc once she was healed. What the hell was Pops thinking! He really wanted to know... People who attacked the Whitebeard pirates got what they deserved, so why was she not only spared, but treated as a special person on board? As he reached where she was on the deck, his gaze lowered to meet hers.

He took in the sight of her face: she sported a large, purple bruise where he had punched her in the jaw during their fight, and her features were molded into a deep frown. He wouldn't deny that despite all that, the girl was beautiful. The gray eyes that bore into his, the deep red hair framing her face, the straight, slender nose, and her plump lips pulled into an angry pout... it all pissed him off even more. He must have indirectly showed his distress on his face because her furious glare darkened, if that was possible. She seemed just as much unhappy of the set-up as he was, but she be damned if she spoke up about it. Without too much care, he bent down and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder like Marco did when he first brought her out on deck. With a small yelp from the girl on his shoulder, he turned around and began walking towards the mess hall below deck.

"Like a _guest_ brat."

"What? She's weak, can't move."

As the pair made their way below the deck, slowly disappearing out of sight, Marco, who was standing by his father's side the whole time, looked up questioningly at him.

"What is it, Marco."

"I'm just a little confused that's all, yoi."

Whitebeard closed his eyes and tried to explain his reasoning to his son, "Her and Ace were the ones who had fought, if she is going to stay on this ship for a prolonged period of time I need them to get along. Making them spend time together is bound to lead to some sort of truce. Last thing I need is two brats fighting on the deck every morning."

"Mm, I understand that much, but why keep her on the ship at all?" Marco looked up questioningly at his father. He had been with Pops the longest but he still had trouble understanding his thoughts from time to time.

A deep chuckle left Whitebeard's toothy grin after he took a swig of his sake, "That red hair and defiance in those eyes... looks awfully familiar, doesn't it? Marco?"

He was caught off guard by the odd question and the gears started turning in his mind to contemplate it. He thought back to the girl's appearance. She was rather beautiful, with long red hair, and was an exceptional fighter for her age. Marco was positive he had never met the girl until then, but it seemed that Pops expected him to know something. Even he himself had an odd sense of deja vu when he looked at the girl. He thought over the question for awhile before his eyes widened at the realization...

"Pops, you don't really mean to tell me that..."

"Gurarara, don't jump the gun too early yet boy! But I do think we stumbled upon something interesting. Keep an eye on her would you."

With another swig of his sake, the conversation was brought to an end and Marco started making his was below deck. His usually calm features were now laced with a bit of confusion. If Pops was meaning to tell him what Marco thought he was telling him... then why on Earth was the girl a Marine?

* * *

_**[**__Give Me Love – Ed Sheeran__**]**_

She lifted her head to observe all the different corridors Fire Fist was passing through, she never really took in just how massive the ship was. She was jostled out of her thoughts when she began to bounce a top the man's shoulder, she glared at the air, _another set of stairs_?

Looking over her shoulder, she stared at the back of his head watching his wavy hair under that outrageous hat swish with his movements. She let out a deep breath and lowered her head again, face to face with the middle of his muscular, yet bandaged back. Looking at the bandages, she smirked. As far as she knew, she was the first person to go against the infamous Second Division Commander and hold their ground. Of course, she _did_ lose in the end, but managing to inflict that much damage to him was no small feat from what she heard.

They have been walking, or rather he had been walking, in total silence. Fed up with his stubbornness, Akane spoke up, "I'm capable of walking y'know."

"Good. We're here." The curt response surprised her, she expected he would argue back and forth with her for a bit, but he already placed her down on her feet. He walked away from her, passing many tables, and disappearing behind a door on the other side of the room.

She stood in the large room. It was void of people, the crew probably already ate when she was still asleep. Without not much other choice, she followed Ace's path and opened the door he had passed through a little while earlier.

The door lead to the ship's large kitchen which was empty save for Ace, who was placing food, presumably leftovers, on a plate. He was doing the job with a small frown on his face, seemingly reluctant of the task. He turned his head slightly to the side when he heard the door open but chose to ignore the girl's presence in favour of completing his _stupid_ orders. Finishing filling the plate with various foods that were served at lunch, he picked up a fork and walked past the girl, back into the large, cafeteria-like room. The girl, Akane was it? Followed quickly behind him, he could practically feel the irritation in her movements and he had to admit, it gave him some satisfaction.

He placed the fork and plate of food on one of the numerous tables and motioned for Akane to sit down. With her stomach almost painfully empty, she complied without so much as a bit of arguing. She slid onto the bench and began eating almost immediately. It was a bit painful to chew the food, her jaw hurt and she deduced it was probably some sort of injury from their fight. As Akane continued to eat, she expected him to leave, but out of the corner of her eye she saw that Fire Fist was still standing there, observing.

"What?" She grunted through bites of food.

Instead of answering her question, he raised a finger and pressed it against where her jaw was hurting. A strangled noise left her throat and she flinched away, scowling at him.

"What the hell was that for?"

In all honesty, Ace didn't know. As he was standing there watching her eat, the bruise had caught his attention and kept it. He watched as it stretchered and shrunk as her jaw moved up and down, it looked painful and at that moment he felt bad for having inflicted it on her. So he stood there staring at it until she looked up at him with cold eyes. He mentally punched himself for even thinking what he did, she was a Marine, an enemy. So instead of answering her question, he felt compelled to show her... that's all.

Her eyes bore into the pair across from hers, mentally killing the other. They were brought out of their staring contest of death when they heard footsteps approaching them.

"Can't you two get along for two minutes yoi?"

"No-" They stared at each other again for having spoken in unison.

Marco heaved a sigh at their juvenile behavior and took a seat across from Akane. "You two better behave, 'else Pops gonna throw both of you overboard."

Akane scoffed quietly and muttered, "'least I can swim."

A small noise of frustration left Ace's throat at the comment, it looked like she set him off again. Marco observed the two of them with interest. It would seem they were both capable of getting under the other's skin. How Pops expected them to arrive at a 'truce' on their own was beyond Marco. He decided he would help lead the _children_ to an understanding, it was his job to keep an eye on her anyway.

Ace began to march away but before he could get far, Marco grabbed his wrist and threw him on the bench, a forceful motion as a suggestion for Ace to sit beside him. The girl stopped mid-bite and stared questioningly at the spectacle in front of her, Marco simply smiled calmly at her.

"Marco! What the fu-"

"So, Miss Akane, I recall hearing that you and your crew were on the island busting some pirates? Tell _us_ about it, yoi." Gritting his teeth on the emphasized word and threw a side glance at Ace, daring him to even make a move to leave. Marco hoped the small talk would help the girl relax in his presence a bit, he had much more important questions he needed answered later on after all. From the corner of his eye, Marco saw Ace pout like a_ freaking child_ and turn his head defiantly to the side, refusing to join the conversation.

Akane stared perplexed at the older of the two men across the table. Realizing she still had a fork of food hovering right in front of her open mouth, she took a bite and chewed, slowly. Call her stubborn but she would prefer to prolong having to talk about her life to the pirates. She chewed her food as much as she could, and swallowed it. Marco was patient though, and he was still staring at her waiting for her to answer. Without much other choice, she chose to respond in the most curt way possible.

"e-X Crew, they were small time pirates. Sold some illegal substances, base was at the island, shut the operation down. That's all." Shrugging at the end and resuming her meal of leftovers. Apparently the answer wasn't enough for him because his interest seemed piqued.

"Oh? Never heard of them. How long were you on the case?"

She was beginning to get agitated but kept her face composed. There was no way she would lose her cool now, not after her life had been spared. Before she answered, she took another bite of food and took a good look at the two men sitting across from her. One of them, Marco, was staring at her with interest and relaxed features, while the other, Ace, refused to look at her, his lips in a small pout and with knitted eyebrows. The whole scene was actually quite comical, they were just so opposite. A small giggle left her lips before she could catch it and she internally cursed herself for accidentally dropping her cool.

"What is it yoi?" He continued to smile at her.

"N-nothing, don't pay me any mind." She replied, waving her hand a bit.

Marco wore a contented smile, the conversation was going better than he had planned. It seemed she was quite friendly, even towards pirates, she just needed to be encouraged. He watched as she finished the last bits of her food and placed the fork diagonally on her plate, signaling she had finished her meal. He was amused at her subconscious actions, seeing a little etiquette was refreshing when living on a pirate ship.

"Uhm, the plate... I should..."

"Oh don't worry about it Miss Akane, Ace will take care of it." The latter addressed whipped his head around and glared at Marco. "Won't you? Ace?" He said through a gritted smile again.

Ace grumbled but stood up and roughly grabbed the plate, swiftly striding towards the kitchen door and angrily slamming it open, leaving it swinging in the aftershock after he passed through. Marco exhaled a quick breath through his nose and closed his eyes. He opened them again to find that the young girl sitting across from him was starting to look drowsy. It appeared she was fighting an internal battle with her exhausted body to stay awake but she was slowly losing.

She really didn't want to fall asleep there, but she couldn't help the feeling washing over her. Sleep meant that she would be defenseless. Against her will, her head started to lull and her eyelids began to weigh down on themselves. Despite Marco being a pirate, he was rather kind to her their entire encounter, he had even brought stew to her room without knowing if she would be awake or not. Submitting to her body's will, she slowly drifted off to sleep, content with the thought that Marco wouldn't hurt her in that state.

Her head fell to the wooden table with a dull 'thunk' and Marco let out a chuckle. The action reminded him a lot of a certain angry child that was, at the moment, washing a plate in the kitchen. He stood up from his seat and walked around the table to where the small sleeping form was. He bent down and placed one arm on her waist and one arm around her shoulders, slowly slipping her out of the bench. When she was out far enough, the arm that was around her waist slid down to underneath her lower thigh, giving him enough grip to lift her up and cradle her against his chest. He had decided against carrying her over his shoulder again.

Ace walked out of the kitchen with a scowl on his face but the expression was wiped away when he did a double take at the bundle in his friend's arms. What the hell? He was only in the kitchen for about a minute and he comes out to Marco carrying their sleeping 'guest' like a bride?

"Uh... What happened?"

"Fell asleep after eating, yoi."

He scoffed, "That's stupid."

"Reminds me of you."

And the scowl was back. He glowered at the sleeping girl, she was a hell of a lot cuter when she didn't speak, in his opinion. Ace watched as the girl nestled closer to the crook of Marco's neck in her state of unconsciousness.

Marco chuckled. If he didn't know any better he'd say Ace was jealous. He knew the boy held interest for the girl, he had ever since he had to be bandaged up 'for the first time in years'. Whether it was good or bad intentions, Marco knew that Ace would follow the girl around even if he wouldn't be given orders to. Marco couldn't help but wear a playful smirk when he felt Akane nestle into his neck and puff out a sigh in her sleep, the small action further making Ace's frown deepen. Marco admitted to it, he liked poking fun at his dear little brother and he had a feeling that the next three weeks would be interesting.

"Taking her back to 'er room, I'm assuming you're relieved of your duties now, you're free to go." What he didn't expect as a response was a pair of furrowed brows and dismayed eyes.

"I'll come too," the answer making Marco's usually half-lidded eyes slightly widen, "nothing better to do." Ace added on in a mutter. What? He really didn't. He hadn't received orders to do anything else since he was still 'injured', and it was already late evening...

He watched as a playful smile adorned Marco's lips as he began to turn around and make his way out of the mess hall. Ace followed a few steps behind him, taking a peek at the little bit of scarlet hair that was visible over Marco's shoulder. Did their battle really exert her that much? She had already slept for three days and now she passed out again. He guessed having to face Pops for the first time could drain you of your energy, but this girl was ridiculous.

"If you keep that expression on your face it'll get stuck like that." Marco said, looking over his shoulder.

_**[**__Dark Paradise – Lana Del Rey__**]**_

"Shut up." But the reminder was enough to make Ace relax his features. Constantly glaring and scowling made his face cramp and put him in a forced, sour mood. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and let his anger leave with it. The girl, Akane, didn't really do anything _that_ wrong. They were pirates and she was a Marine. She was only doing her duty and he supposed he liked her a lot more than he would most annoying Maines. She even let her crew escape in place for her own life, a noble act of a captain. He had done it himself when he was once a captain almost over a year ago.

_"That doesn't mean much coming from you!"_

Akane hated him, rightfully so, and it wasn't like he particularly favoured her that much either. Ace would not expect her to like him, hell he didn't care for her to, but he felt a desire to know more about her, if only to quench his curiosity.

"_Killed, specifically."_

"_Don't know. Don't care."_

Were her circumstances a little like his?

"_...she protected me."_

He shook his head and shut his eyes as an act to physically shake the thoughts out of his mind. They reached her given room, Ace opened the door since Marco's hands were full and they both walked towards the unkempt bed. Marco gently placed her down on the mattress, took off her shoes, and pulled the covers over her. She let out another soft sigh in her sleep and shuffled under the covers to a more comfortable position and lay there letting out soft even breaths, content and relaxed.

Marco began to make his way out of the room to let the girl have some quiet to sleep but stopped when he noticed there weren't any footsteps behind him. He turned around to look at Ace's relaxed shoulders, quietly staring at the sleeping girl, his face no longer adorning the scowl he had been wearing his entire encounter with Akane. A warm smile crept up to Marco's lips at the sight of his childish little brother probably reasoning with conflicting thoughts over the Marine girl.

"You coming or not, yoi?"

Ace's snapped out of his daze and began to walk over to Marco, "Uh, yeah... I just..."

"What?"

"Nothing. Doesn't matter."

The two made their way out of the room and Marco slowly closed the door behind him. They walked side-by-side to the top deck in silence, the sound of talking and laughing growing with each step they took. The sun was almost set, the top of it touching the distant water, the red hues licking the ocean.

Marco was making his way to the center of the deck where Pops' large chair where he sat, and the rest of the crew were gathering for their night-time festivities. As he reached his destination, he noticed Ace continuing to walk off, for what Marco guessed, was a secluded area on deck to sit. He shook his head but let it go, the boy was stubborn and would need time to adjust to the changes on board, specifically, a certain extra passenger.

Ace found a place on deck away from the crew and sat down. He looked out onto the sunset, the last bits of it painting the sea and sky a deep red as it slowly disappeared below the horizon. The scarlet sky unwillingly making his thoughts drift to the girl. He closed his eyes and tried to clear the muddled thoughts of that day away.

* * *

Sengoku was sorting out different reports on his desk when the door opening to his office brought him out of what he was doing. He watched Akainu enter the room, not notably surprising in itself, but he wore an even deeper scowl etched into the contours of his facial features than usual.

"What is it Sakazuki."

"A report reached me yesterday night about a Maine Captain being taken hostage by pirates."

"So? It isn't my job to babysit, get on it."

"The pirates are the Whitebeards, and the hostage is Akane."

Sengoku's eyes widened. "What? Why didn't you report this to me sooner? That damned Whitebeard, what is he up to!"

"It only reached me just recently, something like this isn't that uncommon of an ordeal so the report was slow to reach the higher ranks." If it was even possible, Akainu's frown deepened. "But since it's Akane... and since it's that damned Newgate..."

A low rumble of frustration rose in Sengoku's throat. That damned Whitebeard... he never took hostages, so was it possible he already figured out...? No, that was impossible. Although she bore a resemblance, it wasn't something that would cross most people's minds... But Newgate wasn't just an average person. Sengoku cursed at the situation. That girl... would be better off dead than an enemy to the Navy. He had an idea of what Whitebeard was thinking and if that bastard played his cards right... the Navy could lose a soldier with lot's of potential, and gain another enemy that would cause lots of trouble in the future. He knew it was possible too, that girl did not hold the same amount of loyalty to the Navy as the other soldiers did.

_Sengoku stared down the line of the top five recruits from the new batch of soldiers. The top scoring would always be sent to him so he could assess them and assign them to a fitting Vice Admiral for special training. _

_He walked up to the first soldier in the line, he could see the young man flinch under his gaze. "Soldier! Why did you join the Navy?"_

"_To uphold the truth of Justice, sir!" The man squeaked as a response._

_Good, but typical. He continued down the line, asking the same question to each soldier._

"_Soldier! Why did you join the Navy?"_

"_To rid the seas of pirates sir!"_

"_Soldier! Why did you join the Navy?"_

"_To protect innocent civilians from the wrath of pirates sir!"_

"_Soldier! Why did you join the Navy?"_

"_To rid the world of scum, sir!"_

_Sengoku stopped in front of the last soldier in line, having to lower his line of sight much more than he had to with the others. A small, young girl with shoulder length red hair and smokey gray stern eyes stood in front of him. He was a bit surprised at the sight, she couldn't have been older than sixteen... such a small girl beat the scores of almost all the other new recuits?_

"_Soldier! Why did you join the Navy?"_

"_To sail the seas with freedom." … "sir."_

Sengoku always kept an eye on her records and reports, she was different than most Marines in the sense that she was indifferent towards pirates. It was peculiar, but he never questioned her about it. That didn't stop him from having an extensive investigation on her background. When the reports came back, he knew he had to have a strong hold on the girl, she was potentially dangerous to them if she were to ever discover her origins. In all honesty, it would have been better if she were to disappear, but killing an innocent Marine soldier not guilty of any crime was against his morals, and tossing her over to the pirates was not an option. Instead, he opted to having an extra special watch on her and her movements. But now with her in Newgate's hands... nothing good could come of it.

"Sakazuki, set up a rescue mission immediately. Track down the Moby Dick, be as cautious as possible, avoid as much conflict as you can." Sengoku's brows furrowed, "Hurry."

"Yes sir." Akainu swiftly made his way out the door, intending to get to work right away. The Fleet Admiral and the Admirals were the only ones who were aware of her origins. He never liked the idea of having the brat Akane in the Navy at all. He pulled out a den den mushi from his suit and dialed a call.

Buru buru... buru buru... kachank!

"Borsalino, looks like we're going on a little rescue mission."

"Oh? A rescue mission? Interesting, eh?"

* * *

So that was chapter two! I like the 5k length of the chapters and I think I'll try to keep it consistent, it's about 12 pages when I type it out so it does take quite awhile to write.

Things to take note of in my fic and upcoming chapters:

I personally do not like it when I read fics with Japanese honorifics and terms used in them when everyone is clearly not speaking it. I'm going to avoid it in my fic as much as I can because I do not like it myself. This can be seen in a few instances already.

-Instead of the Whitebeard pirates calling Whitebeard 'oyaji', they call him Pops. I know oyaji is better translated to 'old man' but I don't think it holds the same endearing tone it does in Japanese, I think in English it's actually almost insulting than loving, so I chose the term Pops instead. It's a more casual way of addressing someone as father but still holds the respectful tone to it.

-When Marco (and some more upcoming pirates) addresses Akane as 'Miss Akane', I'm kind of going for an 'Akane-chan' feel. I know it isn't exactly the same thing, and Miss's better counterpart would be '-san', but I don't think Akane-girl looks too good written down. 'Miss Akane' is used as a sweet tone of addressing her more than a respectful tone like a butler would when addressing someone.

-When Kizaru (Borsalino) speaks in the Anime, he has a very unique way of speaking, lifting his tone at the end of sentences and using 'Ohhh' and 'neee' a lot. I didn't like the way it looked written down (the excessive letters irks me) so I just left the words as they are, and instead of using 'nee' he will use 'eh', 'oh','hm' and 'huh'.

-The only thing I chose to leave so far is Marco's 'yoi'. Something like that cannot be translated in anyway since it doesn't even really have a meaning itself.

And that's all I have to say for that so far. (:

Also a few other things:

-Akane is around 5' - 5'1" (152-153 cm) which is _very_ short for a grown character in the One Piece world. For a comparison, Luffy (one of the shortest characters in One Piece) is around 5'8" after the timeskip. For some odd reason everyone is freakishly tall in that universe. Ace is 6'1" according to One Piece wikia -chokes-

- Akane 茜_f_, Means "deep red" in Japanese

-I think the bigger romance will lean towards Ace, but I like putting in cutesy things with the other pirates too. So although the big picture will be more about Ace, expect to see some warm moments with some of the others (-coughs- mostly Marco -coughs-)

Other than all that, the plot is thickening eh? (:


	3. Chapter 3: Tornado

This is the longest chapter yet, nearing almost 6k (dear God). The plot is kind of slow in this chapter but there were things that I just had to get out of the way before really getting into the story.

I have pretty much mapped out the plot and backstory of Scarlet, so hopefully there won't be any plot bunnies as I go on.

So without anymore announcements, open up a tab for youtube and enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: The only thing I own is the OC.

* * *

_**[**__Omake – Shingeki no Kyojin__**]**_

_The sounds of screams and frantic footfalls could be heard outside the small, unlit house. Inside, a young mother was rushing to get her daughter out the back door to escape into the thick forest of the island away from the attack._

"_Mom, I'm scared." The girl whimpered as she looked up at her mother with tear-filled eyes._

"_Don't worry Akane, I'll always protect you, I love you, you know that don't you?" Her mother said with a warm smile and reassuring eyes._

"_I love you too." The girl choked out, grabbing on to her mother's skirt and nestling her head against the woman's thigh._

"_Don't cry Akane, don't be scared. This will all be over soon, and then we can eat dinner together tonight, okay?"_

_A woman yanked open the back door to the house in a frenzy, spotting the two figures in the center of the room, she spoke to them with haste. _

"_Elizabeth! This is no time to be standing around! Grab Akane, let's go!"_

_Shouts could be heard near the front door of the house, the pirate's were close, and if they didn't leave soon they would all be killed._

"_Leah, take Akane and go, one of us has to stay back and buy the other two some time, or else we'll all be caught."_

"_Elizabeth don't be ridiculous! Just hurry up!" Her voice growing more frantic, her dearest friend always chose to make catalyst decisions like that._

"_Mom?"_

_Elizabeth crouched down to meet her lovely daughter's eyes. This young, precious, beautiful girl had been her entire life for the past six years, and losing her would be worse than dying. She slipped her hands behind her neck and unhooked the golden chain, bringing it behind Akane's and hooking it back on. _

"_Akane, you know mommy's favourite necklace right? This necklace is Ai."_

"_Ai?"_

"_Yes, Ai. It is love. If you ever feel alone, wear this necklace and remember how much your mother loves you. I'll always be inside this necklace, so mommy will always be with you okay?"_

_The girl looked in her mother's eyes and the tears welling up in her eyes streaked down her cheeks, why was her mom smiling? Weren't there bad guys out there?_

_With loud crashes outside the front door, Leah didn't have anymore time to argue, Elizabeth had already made up her mind and she wouldn't change it. She dashed inside the house and grabbed the crying young girl and didn't look back as she ran out the back door. Above the cries and screams of the child in her arms, the wind gently blew past her, kissing her ears, and within the breeze she heard a quiet thank you lost in it. A tear rolled down her cheek as she ran further and further away from her best friend and towards the forest, abandoning her to face her imminent death alone._

_Akane's could see over the woman's shoulder, and she stared in horror as a large man brought a sword down to her mother. The only thing she could hear was an ear-piercing shriek before she watched as her mother fell motionless to the floor._

She shot out of bed, damp with sweat and tears from the nightmare. She brought a shaky hand to her face and held her cheek with a sweaty palm. It had been a long time since she had dreamed up a memory, maybe the stress of recent events finally took their tole on her.

Trying to wash away the nightmare from her mind, she was not willing to lay back down in bed again. Akane looked out the port window and saw that it was twilight outside. Waking up to the darkness outside disoriented her sense of time, either she just had an extensive nap or she slept through another entire day. She swung her not-as-sore legs over the mattress and saw her flip flops waiting for her the exact same way they were when she first woke up on the ship. She recalled the fresh memory, of her first, clumsy encounter with Marco the Phoenix. The thought of the man brought her back to when they were in the mess hall. She had fallen asleep there in front of him, so it made sense that he was the one to carry her back to her room.

She shook her head, and wiped the tears from her eyes, what was she thinking? She was letting down her defenses far too easily considering she was on a foreign ship. First by accepting their food, second by slipping out a giggle at the pirates, and thirdly, letting herself be in the most defenseless state a person could be in, right in front of one of them! She couldn't believe she even let the thoughts of Marco not being a bad guy slip into her sleepy mind before... she hardly knew the man! And what was up with her claiming things! 'Her bed', 'her flip flops', 'her room', they weren't! She slipped up far too much too fast, she didn't even act this comfortably with her own crew.

The reminder of her crew brought a frown to her face. Did they make it out okay? They were her crew so they had to have. If three, possibly four days now, have passed since the incident on the island, they were bound to have reported the incident by now. As much as she believed she didn't need them and she didn't care too have a crew... at that moment, an overwhelming sense of loneliness washed over her. At least... she took the fall in their place. She was strong and she would survive this, for herself. She held the heart pendant that hung on the gold chain with her thumb and index finger, the thumb absentmindedly rubbing across the engraved symbol on the back.

"_If you ever feel alone, wear this necklace and remember how much your mother loves you."_

With new resolve, Akane finally got out of bed and slid on the flimsy shoes. She still couldn't get used to them, her normal footwear was usually heavy boots. She walked over to the door and noticed she wasn't nearly as exhausted as she was the first time she woke up. She turned the knob and exited into a corridor of doors, doors, some stairs, and more doors. Why did this ship have to be so damn big? Where the hell was she?

As she stood in silence, she heard the faint sounds of laughing and singing. Thinking it was her best chance of escaping the maze, she followed the noise with her sharp ears, making her way through the halls. As she followed the sound she thought out her different paths of action. As far as she could see it, she was stuck on this ship. Acting sour and ungrateful could possibly get her thrown off of it and that's the last thing she needed. She decided a better approach instead would be to act and get along with them, maybe they would spare her life when they reach the island in a couple of weeks.

_**[**__Drunken Sailor – Irish Rovers__**]**_

Walking up a couple flights of stairs, she was met with the sight of pirates, lots of them. A lot were passed out on deck, but there were still many cheerily laughing and singing. The sight at least answered her confusion from earlier; she had slept through most of the night, not another day. She didn't realize before just how many pirates were aboard the ship, but it made sense considering the sheer size of it. She hesitantly made her way over to the gathering, a few faces, a slightly drunk-looking Marco being one of them, turning to her as they acknowledged her presence. An arm around her shoulders caught her off guard and a startled squeak escaped her throat.

"Yo! So the sleepy head finally woke up and joined the party! You're a little late though." The man with his arm draped friendly across her shoulders said to the surprised girl. She stared blankly at him, taking in his appearance. He didn't seem as drunk or tired as the other pirates around. His face was a familiar one, she had seen it a few times in the past on wanted posters. There was no mistaking it, that ridiculous pompadour hairstyle and scarred face...

"I'm Thatch, nice to finally meet the special guest."

She tried her best to suppress the smile on her face but couldn't, the man's air was ridiculously contagious and his funny appearance didn't aid in helping her try to frown. She sighed at just how weak she was at controlling her demeanor around these pirates. She couldn't help it, they were so stupidly open and friendly with her that it brought out the same attitude in Akane. She was always the type of person to 'treat others the way they treat you', a juvenile lesson taught to her by her mother.

She smiled, "I know who you are, and my name is Akane, not 'guest'."

He let out a hearty laugh at her response, the inadvertent teasing making her embarrassed. "I'm honoured that such a wonderful, young lady such as yourself knows who I am. Well, Miss Akane, how 'bout you drink some sake and join in on the fun?" He held up a cup to her face and a whooping from the rest of the drunk, awake pirates resounded as an encouraging push. She didn't realize until then just how dry her throat was. She hadn't drank anything since she arrived on the ship, it was also probably why she hadn't needed to use the bathroom either.

Hesitantly she took the cup in her hands and took a sip, if only to quench her thirstiness. The crowd on the deck cheered and encouraged her to continue, so she drank the rest of the cup. When offered another, Akane decided against it, she knew what alcohol could do to her, especially on an empty stomach. She lowered the cup. No, she refused to let down her restraints _that_ much.

She gently removed his arm from around her shoulder, "Thank you, I appreciate the offer, but I was just looking to get a bit of fresh air." After she politely declined the offer and returned the cup, she looked around at all the stupidly happy pirates.

"What are you guys celebrating anyway?" It was a little odd, as far as she knew nothing had happened worthy of festivities on the ship while she was on board. Thatch opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, a deep voice from behind where they were standing, spoke.

"Living."

The voice made her jump a bit, she swerved around to face Whitebeard. She didn't know how she somehow managed to ignore the large presence when she arrived on deck, but apparently she had. With a cheeky grin on his face and warm eyes, Akane didn't find him nearly half as threatening as she did before. It was almost... welcoming.

"Living?"

"Living."

The one-worded answer perplexed her, why would anyone celebrate so intensely just for the simple fact that they were alive? She must have worn a pretty confused expression because Whitebeard started laughing at her with that odd chuckle only he possessed.

"Go get the fresh air you wanted, Akane."

With the almost-command from Whitebeard, she politely dismissed herself from the crowd in favour of searching for a more secluded area on deck. As she made her way further and further down the deck, she noticed a form lying motionless on the wooden floor. She assumed it was some passed out, old drunkard who had a little too much to drink, but as she approached, the form undeniably looked more and more like Ace.

She hesitated a little in her steps, was it okay for her to be here? She didn't hold too much of a grudge against the pirate. She and he had fought against each other in order of serving their own sides. Marines. Pirates. It was only natural to fight so their quarrel didn't bother her anymore, but he seemed to hold a grudge against her. His cold behavior towards her had only reciprocated the feelings. For the life of her she couldn't understand why he acted that way, he had won hadn't he?

It appeared she had ended up on the quarterdeck in front of the pirate when she was lost in her thoughts. She saw him breathe evenly, and she was drawn to the rhythmic pattern of his broad chest rising and falling. She knelt down across from his face and tilted her head to the side to really take a look at him. Whenever her eyes would meet his, his face would morph into an ugly scowl... but now... Looking at his calm, serene features, she could finally take in just how handsome the stupid blockhead actually was.

Dark brown, wavy hair framed his sleeping face, the colour complimenting his warm, tan skin. Nicely shaped eyebrows lay atop a pair of closed eyes that had unnaturally long lashes for a boy. A straight nose guided the path down towards slightly parted, full lips. Lastly, she took in the sight of the childish freckles that danced across his cheeks below his eyes. She felt drawn towards them, wanting to touch them but decided against it. The idea of him waking up in the middle of the act wasn't very alluring. As she took in his features, she realized he was almost... beautiful. Not in the sense that he was feminine, not at all, although some of his features _could_ easily be seen on a woman, but in the sense that he looked so peaceful it made Akane relax.

She smiled gently at the sleeping figure and rose to her feet, pivoting around and walking over to the railing of the ship. She looked out onto the sea, it was her first time truly admiring it in months. The desire she had held to be out on the open waves back when she was on the island was slowly being quenched. She closed her eyes and breathed in the salty air, oh how she had missed it. A warm swelling rose up inside her chest and she grinned, looking at the larger than life body of water always washed away her troubles.

_**[**__Fish of the Sea - IML__**]**_

Akane looked out onto the horizon, watching the dimly lit sky begin to fill with streaks of orange and red as the tip of the sun began to rise in the east. She held onto the railing and smiled as she heard the pirates singing a happy song in the distant background. She decided she would sing an old sea shanty herself. She hummed happily for the first few verses of the song and then began to sing as she eased into the melody.

_In this windy old weather, stormy old weather,_

_When the wind blows, we'll all pull together,_

_Then in came the Salmon, as red as the sun,_

_He went between decks, and fired a gun,_

_In this windy old weather, stormy old weather,_

_When the wind blows, we'll all pull together_

She singed out onto the sea, closing her eyes to enjoy the cool air kiss her cheeks. She let the melody sweep her away.

_In this windy old weather, stormy old weather,_

_When the wind blows, we'll all pull together_

After singing another verse of the nostalgic song, a voice from behind her had joined in as well.

_Then out jumped the cod, with his great bulging eye,_

_He sung out "Ol' Skipper your rig is too high!",_

She whipped around and saw that Ace had apparently woken up during her performance and was now lying on his side facing her, his face supported with his elbow. He didn't wear the frown he had when he was around her before, instead he looked at her with contemplating eyes and a face that held a resolve of some sort.

He got up and walked towards her and stood beside the short girl, his body much larger than hers. Holding the railing as he watched the sun rise with her, he continued where the song had been left at an abrupt stop.

_In this windy old weather, stormy old weather,_

_When the wind blows, we'll all pull together..._

After finishing the chorus he side glanced at the girl, seeing that she was wearing a stupidly wide grin on her face. Ace turned his head away from the odd spectacle.

"What's so amusing?"

She chuckled at him and looked back at the sunrise, "I never took you for the singing type."

Ace swerved around to face her, full body, with an annoyed look on his face. He raised a finger to the girl's face like a parent would when scolding a child.

"I'm a pirate. Pirates sing. It's a rule."

Her eyes went cross as she stared at the accusing finger that was a little too close to her face for her vision to focus on it. The finger stopped scolding as it's owner looked at the cross-eyed girl. The hand retreated to Ace's side as he turned away from her, Akane looked at his tattooed and bandaged back started to shake. The caring side deep inside of her began to worry, she reached up a hand to touch the man's shoulder.

"Hey, what's wr-"

The sound of Ace trying to choke back a laugh reached her ears. What was so funny? But the suppressed chuckles wouldn't stop from the man. Her hand that was hovering just above his shoulder balled up into a fist, she then opened it and placed her palm on the small of the man's back, shoving him forward. The unsuspecting pirate stumbled forward but caught his fall. He turned around and glared at her, but she noticed it didn't hold the same sentiment his previous ones had had.

"And what was _that_ for?"

"For laughing at me."

He walked back towards her and stood in front of her. The girl had to crane her neck up to look him in the eyes, her straight line of sight only reaching his lower pectorals. Ace found it quite amusing.

"Of course I'm gonna laugh at you," he leaned down and flicked her nose, the action making the girl flinch backwards, "you're a freaking child."

The accusation infuriated the young girl, her hands retreated from her nose and balled up into fists at her sides. She leaned forward as she retorted, "I'm not a child! I'm only a year younger than you, idiot."

"Yeah, one foot smaller too." He grinned at her boyishly.

Akane was about ready to punch the idiot, but stopped. When had the two of them started getting along so well? Just yesterday they were treating each other rudely and now they were playfully teasing each other? It was a subtle difference of course, a thin line, but a line all the same. She relaxed her shoulders and took in the situation. She had no idea what had happened to him while she was sleeping to have him start acting this way towards her. Whatever it was, she was grateful. She was not the type to hold a grudge, but it made it hard for her not to retort when someone treated her badly. Always arguing the entire three weeks would be exhausting, if he treated her normally, the trip would be much less stressful.

She looked up at the pirate who was peering at her questioningly because of her silence. A warm smile graced her features and she shrugged, "Mm, you're right."

She turned away from him and began walking towards the ship's railing to watch the sun's slow ascent into the sky. With the sound of footsteps behind her, she was followed by the pirate to watch the show.

All the sounds around her seemed louder than they had been when she first arrived on deck. She noticed that the pirates were no longer singing. She leaned back from the railing while still holding onto it and peered at the crowd further down from the pair. It appeared that the last bit of the crew had passed out sometime when Akane was talking to Ace. What an odd crew, celebrating all through the night into the early morning just because 'they were alive'.

She turned back to face the calm water. There was complete quietness all around her, the only sound being the gentle sloshing of the water hitting the bottom of the boat. The serene quiet relaxed her body and she closed her eyes.

"You're not gonna pass out again are you?"

She opened one eye and peeked at the man beside her who was obviously trying to annoy her.

"No, just enjoying the quiet until you talked." She shut her eye again.

He leaned on his elbow that rested on the railing and looked at the girl. "You're awfully relaxed for a Marine on a pirate ship."

The statement made her open her eyes and look at him. She knew she held a unique indifference towards pirates compared to the other Marines she had spoken to, but was her demeanor on the ship that odd? How was she supposed to act?

"As long as I'm on a ship out on the freedom of the sea, I don't care who I'm with." She answered quite honestly.

An airy chuckle left his lips, "You sound a lot more like a pirate than a Marine to me."

She eyed Ace again. Did she really? The idea of becoming a pirate _had_ crossed her mind a few times in the past, but she refused to act on it because of what happened to her mother and village. Instead, she became a Marine. But... whenever she closed her eyes and visualized the word freedom, complete utter freedom... the only thing that could cross it was the image of a joyful pirate. Her own thoughts feeling like a betrayal to her mother.

"I don't care about the conflict between pirates and Marines, I only desired to set sail for the chance at freedom and finding out who I am."

He scoffed, "So you became a _Marine_?"

The mocking tone annoyed her so she replied sarcastically, "What? Should I have just set sail on my own and try to make a name for myself?"

Ace turned around and hopped up onto the railing, sitting down on it. He looked down at her with a proud grin. "S'what I did."

She rolled her eyes, he was oblivious to the sarcasm in the remark. "I know."

The grin disappeared and was replaced with a surprised stare. "You do?"

Akane sighed at his lack of reasoning. "Again, I'm a _Marine_. A _Marine Captain_. Of course I know about you," she turned away and muttered, "not exactly a small name either."

The indirect compliment brought a prideful smirk to his face, obviously boosting his ego. "Ah, well I try."

"Now can you shut up for two minutes? I'd like to enjoy the sunrise." The sun was already fully visible but still low in the sky.

The comment kept him quiet after that. Ace watched as her delicate features relaxed when she looked out onto the sight that was in the distance behind him. It seemed like she had completely zoned him and everything else out, like she was in a trance.

While she stared out onto the sea, he chose to instead, stare at her. He had decided at the beginning of the night that he would let go of their earlier quarrel and treat her like the guest that Pops had said he was supposed to treat her as. He couldn't deny himself, the girl interested him and he wanted to know more. Treating the girl badly would only push him further away from ridding the curiosity from his mind, and besides, Makino had taught him to treat women politely. Of course, getting in a fight with the girl when they first met kind of ruined that... but she had reacted surprisingly well when he decided to approach her nicely.

_**[**__Tornado – Little Big Town__**]**_

A breeze brought him out of his thoughts and he watched as it danced through her long hair. He couldn't suppress the smile the tugged at his lips, he was a little excited. With a new approach to the girl, he felt like the journey to the next island would be more interesting than anything. He brought a hand over his shoulder and grabbed his hat that hung around his shoulders, placing it onto his head and adjusting it on top of his wavy hair with a grin. He hopped off the railing and began to walk away, the abrupt movement lifting the girl from her trance.

"Where are you going?" she asked, looking at him intently.

He scratched the back of his head, "Ah, I'm going in for a shower, it's a lot easier when everyone is asleep."

The mention of a shower sent a wave of self-awareness through Akane. A look of pure horror washed over her as she realized just how _gross_ she probably was. She couldn't remember the last time she showered, or brushed her teeth, or even combed her hair. A nervous laugh escaped from her as she was about to ask a rather awkward question.

"Uh, where exactly are the showers?" She said, with her voice a tad higher than usual.

She could have sworn she saw Ace's eyes widen at the statement, if only a little, but he recovered from his surprise and grinned mischievously at her.

"The showers are below deck, go left twice, down a flight of stairs, right, left, down one more and you'll see a room with lots of shower heads. Oh, it's an open shower by the way."

Her brain froze at open shower. _Open shower. _Open shower on a ship full of_ men_. She groaned at the information and the thought of not showering for a couple of weeks actually seemed enticing.

The man across from her keeled over with laughter and clutched his stomach. Apparently the look on her face was _entertaining_. He may have started acting friendly with her but she made a note to herself that he was still very much a devil.

Trying to control his laughter, he tried speaking to the girl, "Pff- Oh, and the nurses have their own- pff, shower room, so you don't have to worry!" Still giggling, he turned to walk away, leaving the girl with a gaping mouth.

"Well you could have _started _with that!" She yelled after him.

"Sorry, you just make it too easy." He said with a chuckle. "C'mon, I'll show you to the nurses dorm."

Lead he did. He led her through a couple hallways and stairs, a path she made sure to make a mental note of, and they ended up in front of the nurses room.

"All the nurses on board are female so Pops made sure to install separate facilities for them, you can use 'em, just ask them about it."

"Thanks." She turned to him and smiled.

"It's no big deal-"

"No, it is. Not just this... just... thank you, for not resenting me..." The confession awkwardly escaping her.

He stared at her in surprise for a few moments before snickering, "You really _are_ weird."

She hummed a giggle before knocking on the nurses door. Ace had said that they usually woke up much earlier before the rest of the crew, she just hoped that five in the morning wasn't too early. A minute passed before a young women opened the door and gave a once-over at the pair.

She looked sweetly at them, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yea," He threw a thumb over at Akane's direction, "the girl stinks, give her a shower." He started walking away leaving the red-haired girl with her mouth open for the second time that day. The two women couldn't see the accomplished smile on his face as he walked away. He chuckled, the girl didn't stink, not compared to some of the guys in the crew, but it was so easy getting under her skin. He threw a glance over his shoulder, "Oh, and I'm on mess hall duty today. You owe me for me not resenting you so you can help with that after you're done."

She rolled her eyes at the bold order. Devil, he was definitely the devil. She sighed but considered the chore. It was still very early in the morning and she still had no idea where anything was on the ship, so she didn't really have anything better to do with her time.

"Where exactly is the-" But before she could ask for directions to the cafeteria, he turned a corner and was gone.

A sweet voice from behind her spoke, "Don't mind him, he's always like that." She said with a dismissing hand. "Now, let's get you cleaned up." She gleamed with a warm smile.

In a gust of frenzied movements, she was given a towel, hair brush, tooth brush, tooth paste, a razor, shampoo, and body wash, and pushed through a door. The kind nurse, Natalia was her name, explained to her which shower knobs did what and had left her with a grin.

Akane looked at the small bathroom. It was a private bathroom that was kept very well organized and sterile by the nurses that all slept in the bunk room just outside the door. Satisfied, she placed all the items that were generously given to her by Natalia on the lid of the toilet seat. She stared at the toilet for a bit, it kind of scared her that she didn't need 'to go' the entire time she had been on the ship. She shook her head and blamed it on the lack of supplements to her body and the fear she had initially felt to her environment. She began to strip, slowly removing the denim shirt she wore, button by button. As she reached the last one, the door to the bathroom opened again and Natalia's head popped in.

"Sorry for intruding but there are a few things I forgot to mention to you that I think you'd like to know." She slid her body through the small opening and gently closed it.

Akane felt a little embarrassed by being partly undressed, but the women across from her seemed to pay no heed. She mentally slapped herself, of course Natalia wasn't embarrassed form seeing her; she was a _nurse_. The realization relaxing her, she didn't mind the company of the first woman she had spoken to in days.

"Firstly, you may have noticed, but the other nurses are still sleeping, so it's best to be quiet while you're here." Akane nodded and would politely comply. "Secondly, it was us who had treated you and changed your clothes while you were unconscious, we had to remove your undergarments because it was in the way of your treatment. We have them, they're washed so I can bring them to you after you shower." The second revelation eased her mind. That thought of a panty snatcher had been gnawing at the back of her head since she had woken up. "Lastly, you can finally remove your bandages. Any of your open wounds should be dried up now, letting them breathe would actually be a good idea. But if you're planning to use the razor, skip over any scabs, okay?" Natalia winked and smiled at Akane.

"Thank you, I appreciate all you've done." She really did. It was nice to speak with another woman on a ship whose crew was predominately male.

Natalia giggled, "Don't mention it, it's nice to have a new female face around here. Let's get along, okay?" With that, she left Akane to herself.

Revitalized, Akane stripped down and almost tore off the bandages with her impatience. She stood in front of the full body mirror in the nude, assessing her appearance.

She bit her lip. She looked horrid, absolutely horrid. Her long hair was tangled and messy, her face that usually adorned a bit of makeup was bare, her body was littered with bruises, scars and scabs, fresh and old, and all the areas where she normally shaved were, well, not. Aside from the obvious, Akane was content with her body image. Years of training under the Navy had given her somewhat-curvy body a very nice muscle tone to it. But three weeks of not exercising could easily put a dent in her hard work, she cringed and made a mental reminder to throw in some workout sessions at some point.

She jumped into the shower and washed up quickly, coming out feeling a lot more refreshed and awake than before. She dried herself off with the towel that was given to her and saw that Natalia must have slipped in her undergarments into the bathroom sometime during her shower. She silently thanked her and gladly put them on, along with the clothing she was wearing before. She brushed, or rather, ripped the hairbrush through the tangled bird's nest she called hair, and brushed her teeth with the new toothbrush Natalia had given her. That woman was surely a Godsend.

She walked out of the bathroom with an audible, content sigh. Most of the nurses were awake now, chatting lightly with each other. Akane greeted some of them and thanked them for their kindness towards her, and then asked for directions to the mess hall.

Apparently the fastest route to get from the bedrooms to the cafeteria was to go above deck and walk to the other side of the ship and then again go below deck. The two locations were on opposite sides of the ship, the bedrooms closer to the stern, and the cafeteria near the bow. For the life of her, Akane had no idea how any of the pirates had learned their way around the massive ship.

As she arrived on deck, she noticed that all the drunken, passed out pirates were in exactly the same places when she had last seen them. It was still very early in the morning, the clock probably only nearing around six. The sun shone a warm morning light on the calm waves, the still air barely held a breeze. The gentle weather helped to ease her nerves.

This was is it, it was going to be her first full day on the Moby Dick.

* * *

Whew! I had a little trouble writing this chapter, the interaction between Akane and Ace was a little tricky to write out.

A few things about this chapter:

-Yes, Ai is the name of the necklace. It's kind of hard to explain, but Ai is the personified version of it. Ai is kind of just a mix of love, comfort, and her mother (since her mother told her she'd always be inside the necklace). No, Ai won't just pop out of the necklace and start talking to Akane. Ai is just made up in Akane's mind, there is nothing magical or supernatural about Ai. I thought this was a neat idea because Akane definitely needed some sort of crutch to lean on during her life and I can't see her relying on a person. Ai is her safety blanket but she doesn't really realize it yet.

-I researched actual sea shanties and ship terms for you guys! Although most people have heard 'drunken sailor' atleast once. :P

-Yes I know it was boring (it all took place in the same time frame), but I just _had_ to write this one. I've seen a lot of stories where authors skip over the fact that their character hasn't drank any water in days of sleeping, or hasn't used the washroom or brushed their teeth. I wanted to make the experience a little realistic so I wanted to add the whole 'hygiene' and getting ready scene. Cmon, the girl hasn't bathed in awhile, she needed to shower!

-Akane didnt actually look_ 'horrid'. _Ace and Marco have already commented on her beauty, she was just unkempt and it freaked her out a bit. Hey, a girl is self conscious about her appearance aint she? & I made Akane have muscle because she was trained in the army. I kind of imagine she'd have a body like Mikasa's from Shingeki no Kyojin (but a slightly thicker and shorter body type and not as chiseled abs.. okay that's a lot different but you get the idea).

-Atleast you guys got a little Ace/Akane interaction? I wonder what could have caused him to change his behavior to her literally 'over night'. :D Also, Ace singing? I think yes.

-I'll try to have more interaction between characters in future chapters, but it's so hard to keep track of all of them! This whole writing thing is new to me uhg

Will I be writing each day on the ship out in the fic? No, I'll be skipping over days. Her time with the crew will be written in stages.

**Replies!**

kage kitsune 14 - Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it. (:

FluffyDragonsLiveInMyHouse - Hmm, it is a mystery~~ (; LOL, you shouldn't hate him! Trust me, the main antagonist is, and will be, Akainu. & the songs are a bit all over the place tbh. Some of them are meant to be actual background music in the setting and some are just melodies or lyrics that go with the atmosphere. I leave it up to you guys to decide what you think the songs mean in the story. :P

On a side note, I think this hobby is really improving my writing skill. It's only been three chapters but I already feel like the words are flowing a bit better. Also, this will be the last update in awhile. Im going to Cuba mid-august so I want to write out the next three chapters to be prepared. I'll post maybe two before I go and I'll post the remaining one after I come back.

How do you like the story so far? Any opinions? :D


	4. Chapter 4: Underwater

Okay I lied, here's the new chapter out early! Again, this chapter is slow on the overall plot but it has lots of development on some of the characters and I quite enjoyed writing this chapter out. So, read, review, and enjoy! (:

**Disclaimer: **Don't own One Piece.

* * *

_**[**__Sunday Morning – Maroon 5__**]**_

Akane made her way across the deck, stepping over sleeping bodies as she tried to get to the bow of the ship. As she passed over a particular sleeping Marco, a small giggle slipped through her lips. Finally crossing the sea of bodies, she went down the stairs and diligently followed the directions the nurses gave that she had made sure to memorize.

Upon entering the large mess hall, she noticed that Ace had yet to arrive. She couldn't see how it had possibly taken him longer to get ready for the day than her. The thought that he might have pinned the chore on her to do alone and ditch it made her growl. As she walked further into the room, she heard voices coming from the kitchen. Seeing it as her best option, she entered through the swinging doors.

Akane was met with an amazing sight. Dozens of chefs were bustling around the large kitchen preparing copious amounts of food to feed the massive size of the crew. The aromas of the delicious foods reached her nose and her mouth watered. She was brought out of her trance when a large man walked up to her.

"Hello lass, and what can we do for you?" The man speaking to her was sweating and looked tired, probably glad to get a little break from the exerting work.

"I was just looking for Fire F- uh, Ace." Realizing it would be a bit odd to address him with his nickname to one of his crew mates.

"Well you tell _me._ He should've been here awhile ago." The moment he finished speaking, the swing doors swung open to reveal a slightly-damp Ace.

"Well well well, speak of the devil." The chef she was talking to earlier chuckled.

"Sorry I'm late. Fell asleep in the shower." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his still-wet head.

Akane choked on her own breath. Was he serious? "That's a terrible excuse." She said irritated.

He walked passed her and picked up a bin stacked with plates that was waiting on a counter. "Well it's true." Hoisting up the heavy bin into his hands, he began to head out of the kitchen. "Hurry up, set up takes a lot longer than you'd think."

As she followed him out of the kitchen she noticed he no longer wore any bandages either but his visible torso was littered with bruises and scratches.

He placed the bin down and looked over at her, she definitely looked better than before. Her wet hair was brushed out, she no longer wore any bandages, and her entire air seemed lighter and refreshed. Her gray eyes were looking at him expectantly for some sort of instruction. "Place maybe around fifteen plates at each table. You don't have to lay them out, just leave the stacked pile at the end of it." He picked up a good amount of plates and held them out to her to take. "Here, I'll hand you the plates and you place 'em at each table."

Her eyes lowered, "Shouldn't I be the one handing you plates? I thought this was your chore."

He grinned, "Yea, but you owe me don't you?"

Akane let out an aggravated sigh at his behavior. Sure it was great that he started acting nicely towards her, but it's not like she asked him to. It was like Ace was treating her as if she was in debt to him.

With a huff, she grabbed the stack of plates that he was holding out to her and began to walk to the furthest corner of the room. She figured it would be easier to start with the farthest tables first.

And so, she and Ace fell into a rhythm of handing plates and placing plates. He was right, it did take a lot longer than she had thought it would, but surely enough after about twenty minutes each table had a stack of plates ready for breakfast.

She puffed out a sigh and leaned against the table she and Ace were standing at. "Geez, you guys do this before every meal?"

"Yup." He answered her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It takes a lot of time to prepare food for so many people so we have chefs basically cooking throughout the entire day. Of course, the ship has a rotation schedule. The team of chefs that cooks breakfast and dinner one day only cook lunch the next." He picked up the empty bin and began walking back to the kitchen, Akane in tow. "Same goes for navigation, lookout, cleaning, and all that junk. Everyone on the ship is a part of the Whitebeard crew but some are specialized in certain areas, like the nurses, whose only orders on board are to do that certain job."

She took in the information almost awestruck. "Wow, that's a lot of... work."

"Yea, it takes a lot to run a ship this size. Everyone has to work together." He smiled at the thought. Everyone on the crew was family who relied on each other.

As he dumped the empty bin back on the counter where he had first picked it up, one of the many chefs gave him another bin. She groaned, now they had to set out forks.

They completed the task with brisk movements and by the time they had fully set up the mess hall for breakfast, it was already almost seven in the morning.

"Whew! That took forever." He grinned as he placed his hands on his hips and stared at their handiwork.

"Yea well, it could've gone by faster if you didn't just stand there handing me forks." She glared at him accusingly.

He laughed, obviously not too affected by her irritation, and once more headed back to the kitchen. "Since we set up, we get to eat breakfast first."

Akane watched as a very excited grin split his cheeks. He was far too enthusiastic just to eat. But at the mention of food her stomach growled.

As they entered the kitchen, Ace spoke to the chef she had first met, and he beckoned her over.

"So lass, what would you like for breakfast?" The chef said with a toothy grin.

She got to choose what she ate? Maybe the chore was worth it. "Eggs and ham would be nice." She smiled.

"Anything to drink? Orange juice maybe?"

She frowned. "Water. Lots and lots of water." Her tongue sill felt dry from the lack of hydration she's had the past few days.

The two men stared perplexed at her before they laughed at her seriousness. The chef patted Ace on the back and sent them out to wait for their food.

They sat down at a table and waited. Akane sat fidgety as the awkwardness ate away at her. It didn't seem to bother Ace who was seemingly daydreaming about something.

The swing doors opened to reveal chefs carting out lots of food. She stared wide eyed at the amount just for the two of them. Apparently it wasn't such an odd sight because the man sitting across from her just grinned and bounced in his seat as he watched the chefs come closer and closer.

Her plate of her desired breakfast and a large jug of water was placed in front of her while the rest of the food was piled around Ace.

Was this guy serious? He couldn't have been serious. But the look on his face said otherwise as he began scarfing down the food. Akane ate and stared in awe at the human vacuum sitting across from her. His pile was disappearing at the same rate her plate was.

She finished her food and he finished his pile at about the same time. Akane didn't really know what to make of the sight she had just seen, but chose to not question it seeing as the chefs were just picking up their plates as if it were an everyday sight.

"I think I know why they're cooking around the clock." She muttered under her breath.

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

She got up to leave but Ace stayed, lying on the table. She stared questioningly at him. He probably couldn't walk, but he didn't look sick either. In fact, he looked satisfied. Where did all of it _go_?

Leaving a satisfied Ace behind, she walked back up to the deck and the morning sun shone down on her. The weather was still amazingly nice, a sight that wasn't often seen in New World waters. She saw as the nurses were hooking Whitebeard up with... I.V.s? Was he ill? She shook her head at the thought. Maybe he just had too much alcohol to drink, a scary idea considering the size of the man. Some of the crew was beginning to wake up with groans and curses, their hangovers heavy. She walked over to a particular pirate rubbing the side of his head, his half-lidded eyes looked especially tired.

"Do you guys always get this little amount of sleep?" She said as she crouched beside him, balancing on the balls of her feet and hugging her knees.

She must have spoken too loud for the hungover Marco because he cringed when she spoke. He recovered and replied, his voice still tired and raspy. "Not always. For some reason the party dragged on a lot longer than usual last night."

She was about to respond when suddenly the sky turned ominously dark. She cursed herself for jinxing the weather. The calm water began to grow more and more violent and the calm wind began to whip at her skin.

The large waves rocked the massive ship and she fell forward to an unsuspecting Marco who caught her in his lap with surprise. Heavy rain started to pour from the thundering sky and all the drunken pirates were quickly sobered up from the shock.

Marco rose up to his feet while still holding onto Akane's shoulders, lifting her up with him. All the pirates sprung into action to brace for the storm; reeling up the masts, the navigator shouting out directions, Whitebeard calmly distributing orders, and the nurses shuffling back below deck to safety.

Marco's eyes were darting back and forth around the rushing pirates, he then looked down to speak to the girl he was holding on to. He leaned down to look her in the eyes since he could barely see her through the wall of rain and spoke to her with haste, "Go back below deck alright? We can handle this, no need for you to worry." So he turned her around and sent her off with a little push towards the bow of the ship.

_**[**__Underwater – Nikki Flores__**]**_

Having faith in his words, she began to head back to the direction of the mess hall.

As she reached the stairs, she crossed paths with a sprinting Ace heading past her. And maybe it was the perfect timing of a large wave that rocked the ship and his forceful momentum throwing him forward, maybe he couldn't see because of the heavy downpour, or maybe even the deck was slippery, but he had lost his footing. Sliding towards the railing, his hips harshly slammed against it , and she stared with shock as he was flipped overboard.

And maybe it was the instinct of the captain inside of her to save a crew mate when they fell overboard, or maybe even a part of her that was terrified of losing someone else over a circumstantial death right in front of her that had sent her flying over the railing after the Devil Fruit user.

She heard shouts above her of some of the crew members who had seen her jump off the railing before she hit the freezing water and pierced through the icy surface. The cold water bit at her skin and the current thrashed her body around, but she fought to keep control over her numbing limbs.

She shut her eyes tightly and used her Haki to observe her surroundings, sensing Ace was already sinking somewhere below her. She swam downward quickly, using bursts of Haki from her palms to push her forward. Ace's limp body came into view and she hastily grabbed onto him and wrapped both her arms around his chest.

Without the use of her arms, she was left to only propel herself back up to the surface with her powerful legs. Her lungs were burning and even with the use of her Haki bursts to the soles of her feet, the heavy deadweight in her arms was weighing her down. She was running out of breath too.

_10..._ She could see the surface far off in her vision, her whole body was burning for oxygen. _9... _The currents whipped her around and deterred her straight path upwards. _8... _The body in her arms began to slip and under the water it was hard to get a hold on the slippery body. Ace's weight was dragging both of them down. _7..._ Just as Ace was about to fall from her arms, he grabbed onto her neck with all the might he could muster up while in sea water. _6... _She no longer had to use her arms to hold Ace, he was holding his own weight as he latched onto the smaller body. _5... _Able to use her arms, she thrust Haki through both her palms and the bottom of her feet, every fiber in her body on fire inside the freezing water. _4..._ She was so close to the surface, the sight of it making her lungs burn even more. _3..._ She felt her power draining from the overuse of her Haki, she began frantically swimming, with pure strength. _2..._ Her lungs were about to burst as she hit the surface. _1... _She had made it. She started gasping for air, the body clinging onto her doing the same as well.

Akane didn't have long to recover before the waves on the surface were thrashing her around with Ace in tow. The rain wasn't as heavy as it was when the storm first started so she could see the Moby Dick as it was being pushed by the waves farther and farther from her. Panic began to rise in her throat, her chest still heaving for air.

"A-Ace... Get on m-my back..." She said through chattering teeth.

Silently complying, he slowly shifted around from her front to her back and held on to her shoulders. The sea water was draining him of almost all his strength and he so desperately wanted to get out of it. He hated how weak kairouseki could make him.

The rain was slowing and the waves were beginning to calm again. God how she hated New World weather. Her limbs numb from the cold and exhaustion, she began to swim towards the Moby Dick. The storm had well stopped by then and she could see crew members looking over the railings trying to spot her.

As she neared the ship, the pirates on board rushed out of sight, returning with a rope ladder. She let out a shuddering sigh, the nightmare would be over soon.

The body on her back began to stir and Ace grunted weakly, "Y-You..." but whatever he was going to say to her died on his lips as his head slumped against the back of hers.

"S-Stop talking, idiot."

The pirates told her to grab onto the rope ladder and that they would pull the both of them up. She held the ropes with a vice grip when Ace began to weigh down on her as they were raised from the water. She felt like Ace weighed about three times as much as he did when she was swimming with him on her back.

As her knuckles brushed the top of the railing, she used her brute strength to latch onto the wood, one hand at a time. When she had a good grip, with the last bit of her strength she swung her and Ace over the railing, falling painfully on the deck.

Ace rolled off of her as his strength was returning to him. He lay on his back, limbs sprawled, and chest heaving as his senses were starting to kick up again. _She saved him. _He started to let out weak, airy gasps of laughter at the absurdity of it all. _She saved him. _The tiny little shrimp lugged him out of the water on her back. Ace grinned. He thought they were getting along for the sake of it, but... she had jumped into the water after him. The act of heroism was not lost on the blockhead.

Completely numb and frozen, Akane lay on the deck gasping for air, shutting her eyes tightly to concentrate on steadying her breath. She felt a soft material fall on her face and she lifted a hand to it and registered it was a very large towel. Swiping it off her face, she was met with the sight of Marco and the rest of commanders on board (minus the soaked second division commander) standing around her in a circle, grinning. The sight was kind of creepy, but the men surrounding her wouldn't stop smiling and laughing.

"What?" Her voice was raspy and airy.

Marco crouched down beside her head and smiled down at her. "You're an interesting one."

And then it dawned on her, she just saved one of the pirates. He wasn't a crew mate of hers, she wasn't his captain, he was hardly even her friend, and she had saved him.

A weak smile twitched on her lips as she turned her head to look at Ace lying across from her. "L-looks like... you owe _m-me_ now, huh."

"C'mon let's get you dried up." Marco grabbed both her biceps and gently lifted her to her shaking feet.

Her body was trembling in it's frozen state. The waters of this particular sea were freezing and could very well have killed her if they stayed underneath the surface for too long. She shakily looked over to Ace, the man still lying on the floor didn't seem nearly as frozen as her. Fire user. Warm. _Right_.

The storm was gone and the sun was shining down again. The majority of the pirates headed below deck for breakfast since the abrupt weather sobered them up from their hangovers. Even Whitebeard (with the nurses following him to get him back hooked up to the machines) headed down to eat breakfast with his sons. Only two lone figures headed the opposite direction, down to the bed quarters.

_**[**__Lego House – Ed Sheeran__**]**_

Marco had an arm wrapped around the small woman, guiding her to his room to get her dried up and give her not-completely-soaked clothes. As they reached his quarters, he sat her down on the bed with the towel wrapped snugly around her neck.

He went through a wardrobe that held many of his unused clothes and picked out a random pair of top and shorts. Marco walked back towards the shivering girl sitting on his bed and set the clothes beside her.

The girl looked up at him, her face pale and lips purple. He sighed and took the towel off her shoulders and began drying her hair.

Her voice was trembling and hesitant, "W-why are y-you-"

Still massaging her scalp with the towel, he answered her, "I was told to keep an eye on you." He dropped the towel on the bed, handed her his old clothes that were waiting beside her and walked a few steps away, turning around to give her privacy.

Marco could hear shuffling and stumbling behind him as the girl attempted to put the dry clothes on. As he waited, Marco thought about what she did during the storm. Of course he was grateful she had saved Ace, but... "Why did you do it?"

The shuffling stopped in a moment of contemplation and resumed again. He heard a quiet voice from behind him speak up.

"Instinct I g-guess... adrenaline maybe? F-fight or flight?" The girl sounded unsure, even to her own ears. The truth was that she didn't know why she had done it. It was an impulsive action, one she couldn't control.

Akane finished putting on the new clothes he had given to her. She instantly felt warmer now that she was dried off. She now wore black, khaki-like shorts that hugged her wider hips nicely but were baggy for the rest of their length down to her shins. He had given her a red, cotton jacket that had a zipper as well. She tried to zip it up but her fingers were shaking too much.

Hearing no more movements behind him, he tested the waters. "Are you done?"

"U-uh I- uh..."

He took a cautious peek over his shoulder, curiosity getting the better of him, and saw that the girl was struggling to zip up the jacket, the front of her torso fully visible. He thought if it would have been a better idea to stay turned around and wait till her fumbling fingers finally finished their task, but he walked over to her anyway.

He took in the sight of the girl's torso. She was fit. Her taut, abdomen muscles twitching from the cold. Her breasts, neither too small or well-endowed, looked firm under the fabric of her black bra. Prying his slightly-wider-than-usual eyes away, he cleared his throat.

Akane looked up at him with upturned eyebrows and sheepish eyes. If her blood wasn't frozen in her veins at the moment, she was sure she would have been wearing atleast a hint of a blush. She again thanked Natalia for giving her back her bra, it at least covered her breasts from the man. His hands reached out to her, grabbing the two sides of the zipper and connected them. As he pulled up the zipper, his knuckles feathered over the frozen skin of her chest, sending painfully cool goosebumps over her shivering skin.

After zipping up the jacket, his hands went to his hips as he assessed the girl. Although her condition looked definitely better, her body was still much paler than it usually was. Pops would have his head if she got frostbite.

He walked over to the side of the bed and pulled the covers off the pillows. He wrapped one arm across the girls stomach and gently, but forcibly, guided her onto the mattress and covered her with the thick fluffy blanket.

"W-what-"

"Just stay here and rest, I'll come check up on you later yoi."

Her trembling, purple lips formed a pout. "But I've been s-sleeping for days..." It almost sounded like a whine. It upset her, she felt like she was sleeping her life away. Damn that Fire Fist for being horribly idiotic and throwing himself overboard.

He gave her a reassuring smile, "You don't have to sleep yoi. Just stay here and warm up."

Admittedly, the covers felt delightful against her freezing skin and she unwillingly began snuggling comfortably underneath them. Marco let out a small chuckle at the sight and began to walk out of the room.

Opening the door, he looked back at her, "Don't leave until I say so." As he was about to leave, she called out to him.

"M-marco..."

"Hm?"

"I lost the s-shoes in the water."

He rolled his eyes and began to leave the room. He quietly closed the door and began to head towards the mess hall for breakfast. In the back of his mind he knew she wouldn't leave the comfort of the bed.

* * *

Akane was left in the room alone. She stared up at the wooden ceiling and sighed. She rolled on her side and threw the covers over her head, becoming only a small ball under the thick blanket. As the remnants of her adrenaline began to cease, her trembling was less violent as well.

Her body started to relax. Her mind went back to when she saw Ace flip over the railings. It had scared her, it wasn't even a mild reaction; it had _terrified_ her. The thought of losing someone else over a death so circumstantial had thrown her body into action before her mind knew what was going on. It pumped adrenaline into her coursing veins and given her strength, speed, and alertness she didn't know she had possessed. The trauma she had experienced watching her mother die when she was younger and not being able to do anything to stop it... apparently still burrowed somewhere inside her. What she had done had proven that.

Akane rolled on to her back again, frustrated. She had made sure that she would never look back on what happened to her mother that day ever since she joined the Navy. She toyed with the necklace hanging around her neck as she contemplated. So if she still did have this underlying trauma somewhere inside her... why hadn't it acted up before? Was it because none of her crew members were Devil Fruit users? But the thought of Ace not being able to swim in seawater hadn't crossed her mind when she jumped in after him.

Fed up and irritated, Akane curled up under the covers, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It smelled like Marco. The bed was warm and soft and comforting and it eased her mind. Despite her pained body, she couldn't sleep. She had slept far too much over the last few days and her mind was unwilling to rest. So she lay there under the covers and meditated, clearing her mind. Time melted away as she slipped into utter clarity.

* * *

Marco entered the mess hall halfway through breakfast. He grabbed a plate and filled it with the different foods served for the morning and took a seat across from his Pops.

Whitebeard liked joining his sons for meals. He had his own wooden chair at the mess hall since the small benches wouldn't fit his large frame. The nurses were around him, trying to set up those _damn_ tubes again. He watched as one of his sons sat across from him.

"How is the girl?"

"She's fine, left 'er to rest a bit yoi."

"Did she say why she saved Ace?"

"She said it was instinct." Marco shrugged. He knew there was probably a bit more to it but he decided it wasn't the right time to insist on asking her.

"Gurarara, that brat is a strange one. Picking a fight with my son and then saving him."

Marco smiled, "I'm gonna go talk to Ace."

"Well do, boy."

Marco got up from the floor and walked over to where he spotted Ace sitting with the other commanders, his chest sprawled out across the table and resting his head on one of his outstretched arms.

Marco sat beside him, propping his elbows up and leaning his back against the table edge. He ruffled Ace's wet hair, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, Marco."

"Were you expecting someone else?" He said, joking playfully.

Ace rolled his eyes. "Is she alright?"

"For the most part. Gave her some of my clothes and let her rest in my bed yoi." He watched as his little brother's eye twitched ever so slightly. Marco suppressed a laugh. He knew how Ace was. Insistent. Hot-headed. Determined. Possessive. All wrapped up with a little bow of jealousy problems. Marco didn't know what was at the core of Ace's jealousy issues, but he knew that he had them and now that Miss Akane had saved him from drowning, his interest in the girl would only double. He shook his head. Marco could already see it now; Ace tailing behind the girl with a faux scowl to hide his interest, getting irritated when someone would pull her away from him, getting depressed when she had other things to do.

But the slightly obsessive behaviour wasn't anything new. Ace has displayed it a couple times in the year that Marco has known him. The most obvious being his insistent determination to take Pops head when he was first on the ship. Marco also recalled that one time they were docked on an island and Ace had taken an interest in one of the forest beasts, following it around and picking fights with the poor thing. Marco had no idea how Ace's psyche worked, but he knew there was something that bothered Ace and pushed him towards that sort of behaviour.

After receiving silence as an answer, he tried to spark up the conversation again. "You should at least thank the girl, yoi."

Ace turned his head away from Marco and huffed. "Why should I? Anyone could have saved me."

"No, we couldn't have. Ace, we didn't even know you went overboard until we saw Miss Akane swimming back to the ship with you." Ace still refused to face him. "You could have _died,_ Ace."

Ace sat up with a grim look on his face. He heaved a sigh and got up from the table and walked out of the mess hall without saying a word.

Marco rubbed his temples at Ace's stubbornness. The other commanders at the table who were silent up until then were snickering.

"It would seem that little Acey has something on his mind." A man in a kimono chimed in.

Thatch let out a hearty laugh, "You've got that right Izou."

–

Akane was in a state of trance. Her mind was cleared and she was still, yet she wasn't asleep either. Her eyes shot open under the covers when she heard a knock at the door.

"Marco?" Her voice had regained it's normal valor after snuggling in the warm covers for awhile.

She lifted her head out of the covers and stared at the door. It slowly opened and, to her surprise, Ace's head popped in. Her jaw clenched when she saw him. She was still battling with herself over what had caused her to go after the man to their possible deaths when she was hardly even friends with him.

"Hey." Ace grabbed a chair from Marco's desk and dragged it to the bedside. "How're you feeling?"

* * *

Whoopsie, sorry for the little cliffhanger there. :P

So yay! Cliche storm scene is checked and done. There was a lot of development between Akane with both Ace an Marco. Ace's was more emotional development and Marco was erm, physical development.

I bet you guys thought I was gonna make Marco screw her didn't you! You don't even know how hard it was for me not to write him 'warm her purple lips up with a kiss'. (;

I'm still debating on the romance in this story. I so badly want to make her just end up with both of them but I can't! It isn't like Akane, besides, she has things to sort out with herself first.

Also, do you think I'm developing their relationships too quickly? It's hard for me to restrain myself when writing because I just want them to be friends and touchy and uhg

**Replies!**

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan: **LOL probably! I guess growing up with Luffy can have that effect on you. :P Oopsie! I probably should have mentioned earlier that I name the chapters after one of the songs used in the fic. Butttt, there was a storm in this chapter so your prayers are answered!

**FluffyDragonsLiveInMyHouse: **I do too, I believe there _are_ marines in the One Piece world that don't only desire to kill pirates, those are just the only ones we see because the story follows a pirate crew. Heehee, that was a typo! Fixed it, I meant Cub**a**, and thank you! I will. (: D'aww you're making me blush. & yay! I have to admit, I'm a little worried when I pick out the songs because everyone has different opinions, but then again the readers dont _have_ to listen to the songs.

**Lanny: **I really want to add in Marco a lot too, believe me. I'm trying to balance out crucial moments for Akane between Ace and Marco. There will definitely be moments of romance between Akane and Marco, but sadly I don't think I'll let them get too far. The way the story is developing with the themes and the plot, it makes more sense for her to end up with Ace in the end. But that is not to say in the end Marco won't love her or she won't care for him. We can already see that the bonds she is forming with Ace and Marco are different from each other and have their own unique points to them that the other does not, such as Akane feeling an overlying sense of security in Marco's presence compared to the other pirates. & thank you! Im enjoying writing it so I'm glad you enjoy reading it. (:

The next chapter will have more plot in it, I promise!

Review? (:


	5. Chapter 5: Lover's Quarrel

This is the last fic update before I go to Cuba for two weeks. After I come back I will be hopefully updating regularity every friday starting that week. Since this story will be on a tiny hiatus, I made this chapter longer than the others. I'm still trying to figure out the pace of the story, do you guys think it's going too fast? Should I slow down?

Anyway, this chapter was fun to write, especially Ace and Akane interactions. I'll try to add in more of the characters as I continue to write, it's just kind of hard to place them in sometimes.

There aren't any songs in this chapter, mostly because I was a bit lazy heehee, enjoy! (:

* * *

It had been a week since her full conscious day on the Moby Dick. Akane was sitting on the railing of the ship observing a numerous amount of Whitebeard Pirates training their hand to hand combat on the sun deck. It surprised her at first when she heard of it, never had she thought that pirates would actually take time out of their day to have a training regimen. But contrary to her thought, there they were, a good fifty pirates, recently recruited over the past two months, were under the watch of the commanders on board and Whitebeard himself.

That was another thing she had learned during her week full of mayhem; out of all sixteen commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates, only seven were on the Moby Dick at any given time. Though 'only' wouldn't be the right word considering each division had around one hundred underlings. Thatch was the one who had explained it to her when she brought up the lack of presence of the other known commanders. The divisions were split up into four groups, seven on the Moby Dick, and three on each sister ship. He also pointed out to her that the divisions would rotate every several months except for the first and second divisions.

Speaking of second division commander, Akane couldn't help but get a headache at the way he was acting lately. His actions were more than contradictory to say the least and his constant mixed signals made her confused on how to handle him.

Her swinging foot absentmindedly stroked the fur of the massive white fluff ball that lay on the deck below her. When she first ran into Stefan a few days back, it was unexpected so she nearly freaked. The large dog had taken a liking to her though, so the quiet company was nice. She pet the dog with her foot as she recounted the conversation she had with Ace several days back.

_Ace sat down on the chair beside the head of the bed. Akane looked at him warily, she was more than exhausted and she didn't really want to deal with him at that particular moment._

"_I'm feeling fine, a bit frozen, but I'll thaw out eventually." _

_He breathed a chuckle through his nose, "Good to hear." But then Ace's features were wiped of the smile and morphed into a serious expression, brows furrow and mouth taut. "Listen." The cold tone surprised her a bit and she tilted her head on the pillow to look him in the eyes. "If you think I'm going to thank you for saving me, I won't. We made a silent agreement to get along but that doesn't mean we're comrades. I spared your life back on the island and now you saved mine, so we're even."_

_Akane lay in utter shock before burning hot anger slowly seeped into her veins. He was utterly and completely ungrateful to her. She was a marine and she saved a pirate- him to be precise, and he was ungrateful to her. Akane could also have pointed out that there was a large gap between sparing and saving a life, but before she could furiously retort at the asshole, he got up from the chair and left the room with a loud shut of the door._

He had said that but...

"Yo!"

She was joined on her perch on the railing by said pirate, grinning at her. His behaviour perplexed her in ways she had never known possible and no matter how much she analyzed him she couldn't understand what on Earth was going on in that walnut-sized brain of his. Ace had acted cold to her and she was more than ready to avoid him for the rest of the trip to the next island, but when Marco deemed her healthy enough to get out of bed, she was met with a friendly Ace greeting her when she had gone above deck. Skip to now, a week later, and his behaviour had not let up a bit. Akane frowned, it seemed he was just playing her as a fool.

"So? How do you find the little training boot camp we have?" He teased in a playful tone.

Akane scoffed, he called this a training camp? "It's not even nearly half as tough as the Marine _entry_ examination."

"Oh?" A light frown on his lips, "Are you suggesting some Marine foot soldier could take down one of our men?"

She huffed, "I'm not suggesting, I _know_. But then again, all the better for us, so don't mind me. Keep 'training' your men." She wore a sly smirk. Maybe not any foot soldier could take on one of the new Whitebeard Pirates, but she knew for sure that any man on her crew could take down most of the guys she was observing at the moment.

A loud bark of laughter came from her side and she whipped her head to glare at a hysterical Ace.

"That's the funniest thing you've said yet Red!" Ah, that was another thing. Instead of ever referring to her by her name, he opted to giving her a stupid name.

"Would you stop calling me that Cowboy?" She had easily retorted his name calling with one of her own, reminiscent of his horrendous hat.

His laughter stopped and he wore the same annoyed look he did whenever she used the nickname on him. "Stop calling me that, I'm a pirate. And I bet _you_ couldn't even take down one of our men."

It was her turn to let out roars of laughter, so intense in fact, that she almost fell backwards off the railing into the water below her. "I stood my own against you and you're telling me I can't take down one of your subordinates?"

A playful smirk crossed his lips as he hopped off the railing and started walking to the middle of the deck, the pirates stopping their practice to look at him, the commanders and Whitebeard were eying him as well, as for a certain red-head, well, she had an idea of what the idiot was planning.

"Listen up! Red here told me that she could take down all of you without a sweat, that sounds like a challenge to me."

Akane's face morphed into a heavy glare. He twisted her words more than a little and the last thing she needed was for the crew to start hating her.

Yes, ever since her 'heroic' rescue of Ace, the entire crew had been treating her quite cordially to say the least. Sometimes she even forgot that she was stuck on this ship with no choice in the matter. If he were to bring something like this up and put a dent in their 'manly pride' -she rolled her eyes- she worried they weren't going to treat her that way for much longer.

Murmurs were heard all around the deck as the growing knowledge of what was about to happen slowly dawned on everyone.

"So, how about for today's training we have a duel. Red versus all of you." A confident smirk plastered on the Second Division Commanders face. Meanwhile, the commanders and captain were observing the entire ordeal.

"Ho..." Marco knew Ace was one for silly ideas but this...

Whitebeard looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking, drawing all attention on deck towards him. "An interesting proposal. I'd like to see the extent of girlie's power as well." He had never seen her fight yet and Whitebeard wanted to see for himself what the potential power of the red-haired girl had to go against one of his strongest sons.

One of Ace's subordinates looked warily at him, "But Ace... she could beat you up, is that really a good idea?"

Roars of laughter resounded from the entire deck and Ace's face turned as red as Akane's hair. Even Akane couldn't hold back a peel of laughter at the comment. At least they had it in good mind not to underestimate her.

"I think it's a brilliant idea. Now get over here brat." Though everyone could hear Whitebeard loud and clear, his attention was directed across the deck from him at the girl sitting delicately on the railings swinging her legs with his dog resting at her feet.

She knew it wasn't in her best interest to complain to the giant man, she was merely a 'guest' on the ship after all. Akane hopped over Stefan as she got off her perch and sauntered her way to the center of the deck, in the middle of a circle of pirates eyeballing her, but she only kept her eyes on the man who had addressed her.

"Fine. I'll do it, but I won't hold back. None of you come complaining to me when you get injuries." She looked around her, the 'you' being the fifty pirates she was being more or less forced to fight. She was confident enough, observing their skills they weren't anything too special. Most of them were around the same level as Marine foot soldiers, maybe some were at Ensign level, but nothing she couldn't handle. Still, she never faced fifty opponents all at once. It would definitely be a way for her to test how skilled she had gotten as well. Still... "But I have conditions." Everyone looked to her, "None of you can use any weapons of any sort. You also can not pull, tug, or rip my clothing or hair in any way, that's cheating." She held up a finger, stressing the point.

One of the many pirates around her spoke up, "Even so, we can't fight a girl wearing a dress."

"Oh hush up and stop making excuses. I made that kimono myself and custom built it to her frame, I made sure that it would give her just as much mobility and flexibility as any pair of pants would." Izou, the Sixteenth Divison Commander spoke up, arms crossed.

Akane gave a cheeky smile to the man as she began to tie up her hair, she had definitely taken a liking to him. He was one of the few who didn't treat her too delicately but at the same time was very warm to her.

_Four days had passed since the day she had fished Ace out of the freezing waters below. The majority of the crew had been treating her nicely, very nicely, in fact it was almost kind of creepy how a crew of pirates could be so kind to her, especially since she was a Marine. But the fact that she was a Marine seemed to have left most of their minds and a lot of them treated her like she was part of their crew, something Akane didn't take too well. Don't get her wrong, she was grateful they were treating her well, but she didn't want to be or act like part of their crew. She didn't want them to get the wrong idea and _treat_ her like part of their crew, she didn't _need_ a replacement family, and certainly not them to fill the slot._

_She leaned on the railing of the ship and sulked, glaring at the wooden flooring when a shadow began to appear on the planks. She looked up to find Izou walking toward her. He was formally introduced to her as the Sixteenth Divison Commander (not that she didn't know that), and he seemed to be one of the only few crew members to hold a stern look around her._

"_What are you doing?" The low tenor voice reverberated in her ears. She had seen his wanted poster many times but she never pictured his voice to be so... masculine? It was an innocent assumption on her part, she always thought his voice would be a bit more feminine considering the way he dressed and wore makeup. Since their first meeting however, she swore to never assess someone fully before meeting them in person._

"_Oh, the usual." She replied, a wry smile playing on her lips._

_He tsked at her and grabbed her wrist, leading her to the sleeping quarters. "If you're not doing anything, then I've been meaning to give you something." _

_Not knowing how to respond, she let him lead her silently to his private cabin. That was another thing she had learned on the ship, all the Commanders were granted their own bedrooms whereas normal shipmates had to sleep in massive bunk rooms. The room she was occupying during her little stay on the ship was supposedly used as one of the many private resting rooms in the sick bay._

_As they entered the room he let go of her wrist, walking over to a chest and took out a measuring tape and a fabric that looked very expensive. _

"_Strip."_

"_E-excuse me?" She squeaked out. The bold order caught her off guard and sent blood rushing to her face, out of embarrassment or anger she didn't know. _

_He sighed irritatingly at her, as if she hadn't a right to be so surprised at the request. "I'm going to make you something nice. A cute little girl like you wearing dingy, old, baggy man clothing is such a waste. Now strip."_

"_O-oh...?" The whole situation was something she never had to deal with before. _

_But before she could get the gears in her brain working again, she was stripped down to her matching black pair of bra and panties. If the man in front of her had reacted in a way of interest, which he had not, she would have been filled with embarrassment. She had never been so naked in front of a man before, but his nonreactive attitude had relaxed her and she let him do as he pleased, wrapping the tape around different sections of her body._

_After three hours of laying on the fluffy bed awkwardly, almost completely nude, the man stood up from his work and strode to her, carrying a folded piece of fabric in his hand. "Stand up."_

"_O-okay." Itching to put some clothing on, she stood up and he began to dress her in the eloquent pink silk._

_She stood in front of a full-body mirror drinking in her own appearance. It was stunning, it made _her_ look stunning. The cherry blossom pink silk hugged her curves and hid her bodily flaws. Where she had muscles, the fabric flowed over her skin, giving her a delicate appearance._

"_This is... This is incredible. You made this so quickly too. I-I don't know what to say."_

"_Don't. And Consider it a skill. Let's just say it's a thank you gift for saving my little brother and leave it at that." Though the air of the comment was curt, Izou wore a soft smile on his face._

_Needless to say when she walked back up deck she was awed at by the men she passed, all of them seemingly thought she was some brute-ish tomboy that could beat up their Second Division Commander. Of course, not that being a tomboy was a bad thing, but Akane didn't mind wearing something utterly beautiful and feminine every once in awhile; it made butterflies flutter in her stomach._

Akane slipped her arms out of the silky sleeves and let the fabric rest at her waist, revealing a black tank top she wore underneath. "You heard him. Now stop being pansies and fight like men." She taunted, knowing that it would wound their ego.

"Well then," Ace who was standing beside her up until then, began to walk away, "guess we're all set." He smirked and joined the rest of the commanders off to the side. Sure she could hold her ground against him for a few measly hours, but this was different. Though her opponents are much weaker this time than he was, there are large amounts of them. It's a fight that requires a completely different skill than his fight had, and he was confident enough that the girl wouldn't win.

All the commanders on board, Marco, Ace, Vista, Jozu, Thatch, Blenheim, and Izou stared intently at the gathering at the center of the deck. The air was thick around the crowd as the impending fight would soon come upon them.

Akane breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, digging deep into her sense of spirit, her life, to seek out her confidence and willpower. Vice Admiral Garp had taught her to do so, that the strength of ones Haki relied directly on ones willpower and confidence in themselves. He told her that the weak-hearted could never use Haki because Haki came straight from ones heart.

She opened her eyes again, completely relaxed, and shifted into a fighting stance, her eyes half-lidded and serious. The air around her was tense and everyone was waiting for some sort of initiation, and she gave it to them; one small, simple, come-hither motion with her index and middle finger.

And so, the fight started. Her opponents were weaker than her but there were a lot of them, she had to keep her mind completely clear and meditated. A lot of them were surprised when they couldn't land a hit on her, the small body fluidly evading punches and kicks from the crowd around her.

It continued for a good minute, different pirates rushing up to lay a punch on her but the girl gracefully would side-step, twirl, or duck away from the attacks, like a dance of combat. It seemed none of them could touch her while she was using her Kenbunshoku Haki. It was one thing to read someones attack, but if her opponent was faster than her (which they weren't), the Haki would have been more than useless.

That stage of the fight was brought to an abrupt stop when instead of dodging an attack, she blocked it with her forearm. The pirates around her faltered in their movements and stared in awe as one of the burliest men there had his punch blocked.

She grabbed as much of his meaty wrist as her hand could wrap around and swung him in a circle once, knocking away the closer pirates, and then threw him out of the circle. Everyone watched, including the commanders, as the large man landed in a pile of crates a good twenty meters away from the action.

Whitebeard stared at the girl intently, calculating. The girl was definitely no ordinarily trained Marine soldier, that was an easy to decipher fact. A cheeky, toothy grin tugged at his lips as he watched the fight. It was almost as if she had a natural talent for Haki control.

Busoshoku was her favourite out of the two Hakis. It empowered her and gave her strength, it was exhilarating. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. The seconds ticked by as she thoroughly distributed a hearty punch, kick, knee, or elbow to any opponent who got near her. She simultaneously used Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku Haki to tear down the pirates and she was doing it all in a pink kimono. She smirked at the thought, they _really_ needed to stop underestimating her.

The smirk on Ace's lips was long gone and replaced with a frown. She was doing a lot better than he had expected her to. It seemed she was extremely skilled with the use of both Hakis, something he hadn't been aware of. He knew she could use them during their own fight, but back then she seemed a lot more on edge... less confident.

Five minutes later and the deck was covered with heaps of limbs sprawled out all over, fifty pirates groaning from either humiliation or pain. In the middle stood a small figure, arms crossed, with a sly smirk in place. By the time the fight was over, most of the ships occupants had made their way to the deck to observe the fight.

The commanders that were off to the side watching the fight all either wore knowing smiles or no expression at all.

"She didn't take more than five steps from the place she had started at!" A laughing, grinning, Thatch exclaimed.

"An interesting spectacle indeed." A thoughtful looking Vista chimed in as well.

"Gurarara! Get up and dust yourselves off you brats! Marco, make sure to give them punishment training for losing against only one Marine later." Just as he thought, the girl was skilled for her age. He knew she had a long way to go though.

More groans from the deck were heard as the pirates solemnly stood up.

"Well? Satisfied, Cowboy?" Akane said, smiling at Ace.

The rest of the commanders snickered as a flustered, scowling Ace hopped all the way up to the crows nest, out of view.

Akane slipped her arms through the sleeves and adjusted the fabric of the kimono so it sat nicely. She heard footsteps coming towards her and she looked up from her work. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she was met with the towering frame of Whitebeard only a good three meters away from her. She had never been in such close proximity to the giant man as of yet and it still made her feel quite uneasy.

Although of course, she wasn't nearly as terrified as she was when she was first placed in front of his large throne for him to judge what to do with her life. Over the past week he had made it routine for Marco to find her wherever she was on the ship and bring her to him. When it first happened her heart nearly stopped, but he had only merely wanted to speak with her. At the end of everyday he would ask her similar questions: how her day was, what she ate, what she did, if she had discovered anything new... Akane was suspicious of the questions at first and she was more than nervous of answering them, but Whitebeard had made it quite obvious that he only wanted to speak with the girl. As their end of day meetings became routine, Akane found that the large man wasn't as menacing as she always thought he would be. Their talks made her feel generally comfortable around the man, something that she figured was his whole plan out of the meetings. No one seemed to know about the talks either, Marco probably knew about it since he was the one who fetched her every night, but that was it.

The deep bass voice spoke and snapped her out of her thoughts. Akane craned her neck almost completely vertical to look the man in the face.

"Who taught you how to use Haki girlie?"

"Vice Admiral Garp, sir." She had gotten a little more open with her life. The young girl would talk about her Navy life if asked, but she still refused to talk about her personal past to the men she barely knew.

A toothy grin made it's way to Whitebeard's lips. That made a lot more sense.

Akane jumped when Ace materialized beside her wearing a surprised look. "Gramps trained you?" Ace raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

She cringed. Garp beating her up everyday for four months could hardly be called training. She was thankful to the man for honing in on her skills, it was only because she feared she would be killed if she hadn't though. Maybe that was the whole point of his 'training'. "Don't remind me." But then she froze, processing what the pirate had just said. Her eyes widened and she turned to face Ace. "Did you just say Gramps?"

Ace looked as if he knew he had just let out something he wasn't supposed to let slip out. He looked away from the dumbfounded girl and scratched his cheek. "Ah... yea. Garp's my gramps."

Akane moved her mouth to utter words but nothing came out. "H-how- but- why- no, what?" Her voice rose to high levels at the revelation.

"Well not by blood, he's my brother's Gramps but he's still mine too."

The nonsensical logic in the reply made her head hurt. "If he's your brother's Grandad than he's your blood relat- wait. Then does that mean you and your brother are the two brats Garp always talked about?" She said the last part with a disbelieving laugh. She had heard countless stories during her training with Garp about two snot-nosed grandsons.

His eyes widened, "Gramps talked about me and Luffy?"

Akane's jaw slackened, Luffy... she heard that name before. He couldn't possibly mean... "You mean that rookie is your brother?" The ridiculousness of it all made her laugh, "You and Strawhat Luffy used to get beat up by Garp... your Grandad..." She couldn't believe it, not one bit. "Though he never told me the names of the two boys," Ace looked at her like he regretted giving her the information, "I've heard an awful lot of embarrassing stories about them. I even pitied the poor kids." A mischievous smirk played on her lips as she walked closer towards Ace, "But knowing it's you, well, Cowboy, it seems I have much more on you than I thought."

Whitebeard, who was standing close and observing the spectacle let out a hearty laugh. "Then why don't we all head down to the galley for dinner and girlie can tell us stories about little Ace." Ace would confide in him about his life, he was even aware that Garp was the boy's Grandfather, but he had never been told stories about encounters with the man. This seemed like a good opportunity to learn a little more about his son.

As everyone on deck began to file out below deck, chuckling and snickering at Ace's ordeal, Ace himself was frozen in place.

Sweat formed on his brow and he swallowed harshly. "_Shit_." He ran through the crowd that was making its way to the stairs and caught sight of a small red-head. He strode up to her and grabbed her upper arm, halting her.

"Red I swear if you speak even a word about anything stupid I'll-"

"You'll what? Force me into a fight? Too late, you've already done that." She turned around to face him fully and wore a sickly sweet smile on her face, "It's my turn to play now, Cowboy." And with that, she melted into the crowd disappearing from sight.

He really screwed himself over on this one.

The pirates had long finished eating and were now surrounding Akane who was sitting on one of the many table tops in the galley.

Ace sat at the other side of the room, face on the table and arms covering his head. His face was red with anger and embarrassment as that damned Red kept going on and on about the stories she heard. It was humiliating to say the least and he tried to intervene more than once, but he was only thrown out of the gathered circle and away from the speaker.

"Oh and he also told me how his older grandson would always- pff, blush and stutter whenever he'd see a pretty girl!" Akane never thought that those dreadful nights of listening to Garp go on and on about two kids she never even knew would come so in handy at some point in her life.

Laughter erupted from the crowd around the girl and Ace sank further down into his seat. He was a kid! Of course he would have been flustered in front of girls!

"Acey!"

"Aww Ace is blushing!"

"Ace was such a cute little kid! I wonder what happened!"

He had just about had it with the teasing. He got out of the bench and strode angrily out of the mess hall, whines and calls being heard behind him.

When he reached the deck, the cold night air blew against his heated face and instantly cooled him down. He slowed down his pace and walked over to the massive whale figurehead and jumped up onto it. Ace took a seat cross-legged and sulked as he stared out at the sea ahead.

He huffed a sigh and rocked his body weight, willing himself to fall on his back. His fingers intertwined behind his head and substituted as a pillow as he stared at the millions of stars in the sky.

The girl knew a lot more about his past then a lot of his crew members did. Of course she had no idea she did until he had stupidly pointed it out to her, but... she did. The longer the girl stayed on the ship the closer he felt that he would lose his sanity. The past week that she's been walking around the ship, he'd been on edge. It was almost as if most of his crewmates had forgotten she was a Marine... sometimes he caught himself forgetting that fact too.

His fingers dug into his wavy locks. He just didn't get her at all. When he watched her, she'd always grin and laugh sweetly when she was around a group of pirates, but when she thought no one was around, her face would morph into that of irritability. After the first couple times he saw that reoccur, he had come to the conclusion that she was only acting nicely in hopes of getting off the ship in good terms. But when he spoke to her... her grins looked so honest and her laughs so genuine, it was impossible to believe it was all just an act. Ace knew there was more to it and it frustrated him to no end. The girl had a magnetic pull and he wanted to know more about her, wanted to know why she acted the way she did, but whenever questions like that arose she'd manage to slyly change the subject.

"_As long as I'm on a ship out on the freedom of the sea, I don't care who I'm with."_

–

The pirates around her were in absolute hysterics. Something about telling them all of Ace's childhood embarrassing stories gave her satisfaction. The man would always frustrate her with his own antics so it felt good to finally get back at him. Plus, she was hitting two birds with one stone considering it just made the pirates like her more.

An arm wrapped around her shoulders and she looked to see the appendage's owner.

"Oh man! Miss Akane you have to tell us more! I never knew little Ace could be such a riot!" Thatch said in a bubbly tone, his other hand clutching his stomach.

Akane giggled and was about to tell more when she looked at the doorway. So he still hadn't come back... Maybe she had tread too deep into dangerous waters.

"I'd love to, but I think I should check up on a certain Cowboy." She grinned and hopped off the table. "I should leave some stories for some other time!"

–

It was already nightfall when she reached the deck, stars dancing in the sky. Akane made a quick scout of the area but couldn't seem to spot a certain outrageous hat anywhere. So she began walking around, hoping to spot it's owner.

"Ace?" She called out, but no reply. "Ace?" Nothing. "Ace-!" Still none. "A-ce-!" She had learned the best way to get him to reply was to be annoying enough that he'd tell her to...

"Would you shut up!"

Ah, so he was on the figurehead. She hopped up the steps to the massive whale head and saw said man laying down looking up at the sky. He continued to ignore her as she sat down next to his lying form.

"So?"

"Just coming to check on you." She said with a hum of a chuckle.

"Well you've checked. Leave me alone." He spat out irritated.

Her lower lip slightly jutted out at that, "Aw c'mon, I was just getting back at you! You've been trying to pry about my life this entire week, it was just a little payback."

Ace's jaw clenched at the whine. So she had noticed what he was doing through his facade. He sat up and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Don't tell me you thought I would actually fall for that happy act." She looked at him sternly, "You know, a lot of the crew here at least holds a smidge of respect for me as a human being, but you? Not at all. You think I'm stupid enough to fall for some cheap act, you think I can't beat a bunch of rookie pirates, and you still haven't even shown a slither of gratitude towards me for saving your life." She could see a pair of dark eyes glaring at her through the night, "When we first started to treat each other nicely that day, I thought we both had the same thing in mind, but apparently we didn't. I treat you the way I do because it's politeto, not some cheap trick. I treat you the way I do because I think it's a good idea to look past our fight, but not to forget about it. I treat you the way I do because I _respect _you as a person." She saw the shaded figure looked away from her, "But you? No. You don't act that way to be polite to me, you still hold a grudge about our fight, and you don't respect me as a person at all because I'm a Marine. I'm not an idiot, it took me awhile to figure out what you were doing, but I'm not a fool. So stop treating me like one."

"You're wrong." She could barely hear the hoarse whisper.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're wrong!" The night light shone off his eyes and she could see the frustration in them. "The only one who is treating the other like a fool is you!" Akane flinched back from being rebuked, "You think I'm stupid enough to fall for _your_ act? Always smiling and laughing around us and then when no one can see you, you look freakin' pissed? I try to treat you nicely and I try to look past the fact that you're a Marine and I _try _to respect you as a person, but you confuse me to no end and I can't figure out what to think of you!" He dug a hand into his hair, "What you said that time we talked, about how you don't care about pirates and Marines, you seemed so honest and I believed you, but these past few days I'm not so sure." His raised voice and slowly died down to a whisper.

She shook her head and spoke calmly, "No, _you're_ wrong Ace." His eyes widened when he heard his name on her lips, it was the first time she had addressed him with his actual name. "I'm just," The girl let out a sigh, and began speaking quickly "It's just that, I'm on a pirate ship and I'm a Marine and I'm being treated so nicely by everyone and I don't know why and my life is in the hands of someone else's for the first time ever and I feel like I have to constantly be acting polity or else I'll be pushing my luck and sometimes I just feel a bit anxious, I mean I've never been in a situation even close to this before okay? I'm so used to being in control and having power and being the leader and being able to speak with authority and now I'm thrown onto this ship where I have to adjust the way I present myself completely, because I'm not the captain, I'm not the boss, and I certainly don't hold any power. So I'm sorry if sometimes I stop smiling when I have time to myself, Ace. As much as I try to reassure myself that I'll be more or less safe on this ship, I still feel anxious. Not because I think you guys are evil or anything, but because I feel so damn vulnerable and this entire situation is foreign to me and I'm having trouble getting used to it, and sometimes my act crumbles that's all."

The words whirled out of the girl's mouth before she even knew what she was saying. She never confided in people, not ever, she preferred to deal with her problems on her own. However, she had never had to deal with something like this before and her anxiety had been building up deep inside her the past week. It took its toll on her too, she had been having recurring nightmares every night and it was driving her to the brink of insanity. It was so close to spilling over that she let out all her worries without thinking about it. Akane bit her lip and looked at the surprised pirate, she hoped she hadn't said too much.

Ace sat wide-eyed at the girl who just let out the fastest speech he had ever heard. Still trying to process what she had told him, the way she acted, the way she spoke, it all slowly started to make sense. Unless he had understood wrong, he was positive she had just told him that she felt more or less... scared. Ace looked at his hands in his lap as it dawned on him.

He had acted stupid, so very stupid. The girl was only trying to be the best she could on the ship so they would spare her life. To them it just felt like there was another guest on board, but the whole situation was a life or death matter in her mind. She was acting that way in hopes of keeping her life, and all he'd done was try to break her act and get her to misstep. On top of all that, she willingly jumped into the water to save him when she could have left him to drown without being blamed for it.

He brought a hand to his face as he let out a disheartened chuckle, "I get it."

"You do?" The whisper so quiet he could barely hear it.

"Yea, I do." He looked to her and gently smiled, "Hey, thanks."

She looked down, her scarlet hair hiding her face, "What for?"

He stood up and grinned, "For stuff. I think I get you a lot better now Red."

Akane chewed the inside of her cheek. It was the first time she felt so open during her entire stay on the Moby Dick. Everyone was kind to her but they didn't know the anxieties she had felt during her stay, but now that someone did, it didn't seem to bother the one she told at all.

Voices could be heard pooling out onto the deck. The two sitting and standing on the figurehead looked over their shoulders to see the crowd of pirates shuffling out from below deck.

"Party!" The yell resounded from the crowd and everyone cheered in agreement.

Akane smiled and rolled her eyes, she still couldn't understand the concept of their daily parties. She felt a hand wrap around her wrist and she was hoisted up. She looked up to see Ace grinning at her. It wasn't like the ones he had been using all week though, it seemed so genuine and warm.

"C'mon, party s'about to start!" Ace ran back to the deck, dragging a stumbling Akane behind him.

"N-no, I'm not really—"

"You haven't joined in even once since you got stuck on our ship, you have to eventually you know."

"No I don't!"

"You do!" He looked over his shoulder to flash her a toothy smile.

"There you guys are! Did you guys have a lovers quarrel or something?" Thatch teased as the pair approached.

The blood rushed to Akane's face. _Lovers? _No, certainly not.

Ace only laughed, "Something like that."

"What?" Akane squeaked out. The sounds of laughter all around echoed in her ears and she hid her face behind her hair. Though embarrassed, she smiled softly at the floor. If this had happened over the past week she would have felt completely humiliated and anxious under her skin, but she knew now that everyone around her held genuine kindness to her, including Ace. Of course, she still couldn't figure out why they were. The reason she was on this ship in the first place was because she was a Marine officer who got in a fight with one of Whitebeard's sons. None of them seemed to care too much about it anymore though, and if they did they were good at hiding it. Perhaps it's this way because they aren't afraid of her so they don't treat her like she's dangerous. With the way she was being treated, she couldn't help but feel that when they reached the next island Whitebeard would let her go alive.

"Stupid Cowboy! You wish!" She kicked him on the backside and he fell forward, letting go of her wrist in the process.

Ace fell face first onto the wooden deck. Everyone laughed at him but it died down when they noticed he wasn't moving. Even Akane was a bit worried she might have gone a little overboard. When snores were heard from the motionless body, the entire crew just sighed and groaned, then walked away to start their festivities.

She had grown accustomed to the man's random sleep attacks as well, considering he'd have at least one or two a day.

"Leave him. He hasn't been getting much sleep lately, yoi."

"Marco?" The girl looked up at him surprised, "What're you still doing here? Aren't you going to go party?"

Marco sighed and ruffled the short girl's hair, a thing Akane has noticed was becoming something of habit. "Can't, yoi. I'm on first night watch tonight." He brought his hand out of her hair and pointed to the crows nest above them.

"Oh, okay. I won't be sticking around here either," The red-head turned away from him and began walking the familiar pathway towards her temporary room, "'m gonna go to sleep early tonight."

"Sweet dream Miss Akane." A cheeky voice called out from behind her.

"Shut up Phoenix." She threw a wave over her shoulder as a friendly gesture before disappearing below deck.

When she was behind the closed door of her room, Akane kicked off her slip-on shoes and began stripping down as she neared her bed. Thoroughly exhausted, the girl collapsed onto the soft mattress and lay face first into the pillow. A lot had happened that day and though the weight on her shoulders was much lighter, the girl fell into a deep sleep.

–

Marco stood in the crows nest, leaning against the mast with his arms crossed. Half-lidded, blue eyes quietly observe the waters surrounding the Moby Dick as the Whitebeard festivities continue on below him.

Two hours had passed and nothing had come anywhere within eyesight to the Whitebeard ship, as usual. Nothing ever does. The last two decades on the Moby Dick were quite peaceful to say the least. Since the late Pirate King had been executed and Pops was named the strongest, other ships- pirate and Navy alike, seldom dare to approach the massive whale. There is the odd rookie crew that challenges Pops foolishly every once in awhile, but most people are aware enough to stay away from the strongest pirate crew. Even when they dock on land the world follows a similar order. Islands that aren't under Whitebeard's name peacefully accommodate their requests for supplies out of fear. It had been years since the last time Marco pillaged a village. He doesn't mind though. Attacking innocents isn't particularly a hobby for the First Division Commander.

Marco straightens up when he sees a speck on the water in the distance. The ship wasn't directly approaching the Moby Dick, it was coming at a diagonal. The night watch walks to the edge of the crows nest and squints, using his heightened sight to identify the vessel.

Navy.

Nothing too drastic, just one ship. Quite a small ship to boot.

Marco looked down over the railing to spot his Pops sitting at his usual throne. The crew was loud so he had to speak up a bit, "Pops, small Navy ship, ten o'clock."

Some of the celebratory pirates look up at the night watch but most ignore the mundane announcement. One of the pirates, Ace, visibly tenses and scowls.

Whitebeard looks thoughtful for a moment before answering, "Unless it comes any closer, leave it be."

"Roger that, yoi." Marco looks back at the waters and relocates the vessel. In the short time he had his eyes off of it, the Navy ship was already retreating, probably realizing they were in too far over their heads. "It's retreating."

"That's fine." The ship most likely wasn't anything to worry about and disrupting the party to attack an enemy who couldn't put up a fight wasn't worth the effort. Though... it could have been something having to do with the red-haired girl on board.

"Pops I could go after it on my Striker." Ace is at his father's side in an instant as he give the suggestion. His tattooed back looks visibly stiff and the look on his face is... protective.

"Leave it be, Ace." Even if the Navy ship did have something to do with the girl, the events would eventually flow and he would be able to handle it in due time. Besides, stopping whatever the Navy is planning prematurely will deprive him of information that could be needed.

Ace looks down and the rim of his orange hat shadows his features, "Pops... that girl... she doesn't belong with them."

"Stop worrying yourself brat." Whitebeard takes a swig of his sake and dismisses his son.

No, the girl definitely doesn't.

* * *

So that was that! How was it? (:

I'm slowly melding in actual plot into this story before it just turns into a slice of life on the Whitebeard ship. -_- I hope Akane or Ace weren't too OOC in this chapter (especially during their talk), but then again, we hardly saw how Ace acted in canon around his crew mates and on his ship. Also, you can notice there is a growing change between how Akane acts in the first chapter till now. She isn't OOC in these chapters though, in fact, you'll see later on how the way she acted in chapter one is actually more 'ooc' of her and why.

**Replies!**

**FluffyDragonsLiveInMyHouse:** LOL, we'll see! Marco is such a cutie, I want him to have his moments too. ;P& you'd be surprised how quickly people jump into the dirty in some stories you know :)

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan:** AHH great suggestion! I used Thatch a bit in this chapter but I really like the idea of him just teasing and pointing out things for his own amusement. I'll try to do that in future chapters :D

Hmm, so next update will be on Friday three weeks from now then. It's quite a long time but I will update! This story _won't_ be dropped. :)

Also, I'm still thinking on how I should write the chapters of this story. So far I've kind of been going with 'life on the ship and with the crew and then tiny plot update at the end'. Do you guys like this sort of format for the chapters? It's not how they'll always be for the rest of the story though. It's pretty much the chapter format for her stay on the Whitebeard's ship as a guest. Once they dock on the island and plot stuff happens, the format will start to change.

What do you guys think of everything? Review? (:

Off to Cuba on Sunday woo!


	6. Chapter 6: Roar

Ah I'm back and the update is finally here! I had to admit I struggled writing this chapter and I was unsatisfied and kept changing a lot of parts. Idk, I think not writing for almost an entire month got me out of step with the characters and the plot and writing in general... but I tried! I'm seriously still rewriting and editing this up until the last moment I'm posting this.

This chapter wasn't as long I thought it would be considering all the different places it skips to. Butttt! There is stuff in this chapter I think you guys will like that will make up for the length! ;D I felt like some of the characters were a tad ooc but hopefully it's good?

Enjoy!

* * *

_**[**__Hey there Delilah – Pain White T's__**]**_

The party last night was one of the occasional few that ended sooner than the usual. Little by little, small groups of pirates were making their way across the deck to head to the galley for breakfast. They had been having generally good weather the past few days aside from a couple storms, so there was nothing to worry about so early in the morning.

Marco was one of the many pirates heading down towards breakfast. He wasn't as miserable looking as the other pirates since he had to skip the party and drinking last night in favour of night watch. He entered the mess hall and scouted the quickly filling room. He waved and greeted his Pops who was dealing with shooing the nurses away from him, and went along the tables greeting different pirates as he passed by. He looked across the room and spotted a few of the other commanders already half way through their breakfast, but he didn't see Ace anywhere. He made his way to the table and greeted the other commanders.

"Mornin'. Have you guys seen Ace anywhere?" He said with a wave of his hand.

"Still sleeping, I checked. Boy s'been getting less sleep at night than usual lately so I guess he's just refueling or something. Ever since little Akane has been here he's been a bit restless." Izou replied.

"Ah, I see. Speaking of the guest," The blonde looked around, "where is she?"

The commanders sitting at the table looked at each other and shrugged, continuing their meal.

"She's probably still sleeping- oh! That reminds me, Pops said he wanted to speak to her about something." Thatch added in.

Marco looked a bit surprised. Speak to her? As far as he knew, Pops usually would ask to talk with her at the end of each day, not in the morning. However the young girl did go to sleep earlier than normal last night, so maybe he hadn't gotten the chance. "I'll go fetch her then."

The First Division Commander made his way back to the other end of the ship and reached the sick bay. The girl's temporary bedroom was the last recovery room at the end of the hall. He walked up to the door and knocked.

"Miss Akane? You awake?" He spoke through the wooden door. There was no reply. So she was probably still asleep then. He gently turned the knob and slipped through the door. After getting through the door he quietly closed it and brought his attention to across the room and it surprised him to say the least.

Leading to the bed was a trail of shoes, a dress, ...and was that a bra? He raised a questioning eyebrow at the sight and made his way to the bed, or the almost-nude form laying on it to be more precise.

The young woman was sleeping on top of the provided covers, her body exposed save for the fabric covering her nether regions. She was lying on her stomach, face down, hugging the pillow underneath her. Her long red hair splayed out over her bare back and onto the sheets underneath her.

He stared with eyebrows raised at the sight. He shook his head and chuckled as he walked over with a mischievous smile on his lips and a playful gleam in his eyes. When he reached the bedside, he knelt down and poked at the girl's face.

"Miss Akane, it's time to get up." Marco said with a cheeky smile.

He continued to poke at her until she began to rouse from her slumber, grunting and swatting at the intrusive finger. The half-asleep girl merely turned her head to the other side and ignored the man kneeling next to her bed. At least Marco now knew she wasn't a morning person at all.

He smirked playfully as he brought a finger to the nape of the girl's neck. Marco slowly grazed his finger over the bumpy trail of her spine as he spoke in a sultry manner, "You know, Miss Akane, it isn't very decent for a young girl like you to be laying around naked on a ship. Especially a ship filled with men who are pirates, yoi."

The muscles in her back tensed and though Marco couldn't see it, Akane's eyes shot wide open. He continued to watch as the girl's last bit of grogginess disappeared like throwing a bucket of ice water on a fire. The surprised girl was about to shoot out of bed to scold the intruder when she realized the state of her undress. A squeak died in her throat as she collapsed back onto the mattress in an attempt to cover herself.

Marco tried to suppress his laughter at the sight of the flustered girl frantically throwing the covers over her body whilst trying not to expose herself.

"Damn it Phoenix!" Now covered, the girl swung an arm at the man's face, but he caught it before she could do any damage.

He held her fist away from his head and chuckled, "Now now, don't blame me because you like sleeping naked yoi."

"You sound like a perverted old man when you talk like- and isn't this supposedly _my_ room? Whatever happened to privacy? Or a lock?" The red-head said as she fumed underneath her blankets.

"This is a medical room, no locks. Now get dressed, Pops wants to talk to you apparently." Marco stood up and let go of her fist. He watched amused as the girl threw the pillow over her face and groaned.

"Don't wanna." She turned away and mumbled, "Sleep." She closed her eyes again and tried to make him disappear with her mind. She really hated mornings.

"No can do, yoi. Now get up and get dressed or..." In an attempt to fluster the girl enough for her to get out of bed, he crouched down and whispered in her ear, "I'll have to do it myself."

"Touch me and die, old man."

He wore a frown, "Old man? Ever since you and Ace had that lover's spat last night you've gotten pretty bold."

Akane lifted her head from the pillow and turned enough to glare at him with one eye. "Would you guys stop calling it that? We just talked." She turned away from him and let her upper body fall on the mattress again. The girl's voice dropped to a mumble, "And you can say I've just gotten comfortable."

Her answer surprised him a bit and he sat down on the bed, he could see the figure under the covers tense. "Comfortable?" He smiled, though he knew she couldn't see it.

"...yeah, I guess. Isn't that what you guys wanted anyway?"

He pondered her question a bit before replying, "Well I don't know if it's what everyone 'wanted' per se, it does make it easier for all of us though, yoi. Plus, if you're comfortable, isn't that good for you too?"

There was a bit of silence before the girl replied, "Yeah, I guess so." She looked up from her pillow to glance at Marco sitting on her bed twisting his torso to stare at her. "Now get out. I'm not gonna change with you just standing around here."

"But I'm sitting." He pointed out cheekily.

The girl's eye twitched as she slapped and pushed his chest so he would stumble off the bed. "Out."

He got off the bed and headed for the door, grumbling under his breath, "I think I liked it better when you weren't comfortable."

"What?"

"Nothing yoi. Just come down to the galley when you're done."

–

_**[**__Roar – Katy Perry__**]**_

A dozen minutes later, Akane— fully dressed in a black tank top and shorts she usually wore under Izou's present to her, entered the mess hall. Most of the pirates were already finished their meal, making conversation with each other.

The Marine girl made her way to the massive chair seating an equally massive man. Whitebeard sat silently as he watched over his many different sons enjoying themselves. He must have noticed the tiny girl from the corner of his eye because his attention moved to her.

"There you are brat, I've been meaning to speak with you."

The tone was lighthearted but Akane still felt a twinge of nervousness, "O-oh, okay." She sat down on the wooden-boarded floor a few feet away from Whitebeard's chair.

"How do you feel about the Navy, girl?" The room began to fall silent as heads turned to observe the conversation their captain was striking up.

Akane's mind drew a blank. It was far too early in the morning to be thinking such complex things. "Uh, well..." She absentmindedly scratched her knee as she tried to muster up an answer. "I think the idea behind the Navy is with good intentions, and there are people in the Navy that are pure-hearted, but..." She shifted around where she sat and furrowed her eyebrows, "the structure is made up of people. And no matter how good-willed something is, if people are involved, it'll never be like what it was intended to become." She recalled the numerous stories that were passed around her ranks about Marine Captains and soldiers threatening and attacking entire villages, making deals and bribes with pirate crews, and hoarding treasures. She even experienced her fair share of injustice. Of course, the stories were buried immediately and never reached the public, but she knew and was well aware.

"You're wise for your age."

"I'm not wise, I'm just not in denial of the truth."

"If you are aware of this truth, why do you belong to the Navy?"

A headache was beginning to creep up on Akane. Why was Whitebeard grilling her with such intense questions so early in the day? "I'm..." She looked down at her lap to avoid his stare and the ones from the rest of the crew all around her. There were even a pair of dark brown eyes on her from the doorway, but they went unnoticed by the girl. "I enrolled as a Marine when I was fourteen. I was a young girl whose only desire at the time was to leave my island. So, that year I lied about my age and took the entry examination saying I was sixteen."

She looked up at Whitebeard and he saw a spark in her eyes as she continued to tell him about her entry to the Navy. She was avoiding his initial question but he would allow it.

Her fingers fiddled in her lap as she recalled the memories. "It's an intense physical and intellectual examination that takes place over the course of four months. It's not so much as an examination as it is training but they call it that because at the end we get ranked and some people fail it too. At the end of it, I was sure that I was one of the best there. I had to be ranked at least in the top ten for sure."

"And?"

She frowned and her voice lowered, "I was 47th."

One of Whitebeard's eyebrows raised ever so slightly at the reveal.

"I was furious and frustrated to say the least. I worked hard and I knew, I saw, that I was better than almost all those people ranked above me." Her old anger began to reemerge as she continued to recount her story, "And you know, I was the only female ranked in the top hundred of that group. There were actually lots of woman that took the examination in my group, and a lot of them were amazing, exceptional in fact. But, they were ranked so low some of them were told to leave!" Akane took a breath as she tried to calm down. "I was still young but I could see the blatant injustice of it, and the irony of it all infuriated me more. So, I revoked my enlistment."

"Revoked it?" But you returned afterwards?"

"I revoked it because I had something to prove. I knew I was better than them and to prove it, I enrolled again, but this time as a male. I was fifteen by then- had my birthday during my first examination. I cut my hair and disguised myself, went by the name of Andy. I took the examination at the exact same level as I was doing it before, but when the rankings were in at the end... I came in 5th." There was silence around her as the audience waited for her to continue. "I revealed who I was to the examiners and they were furious to say the least." She smirked as she remembered the red faces of the men who she had tricked. "They said I could keep my ranking as long as I wouldn't speak of what had happened to the higher ups and I took their offer. Not long after that I was put under Vice Admiral Garp's wing as a student and I began to climb the ranks."

"So why do you continue to be loyal to the Navy when they showed you injustice?"

Akane placed her palms on her cross-legged knees. "I'm in the Navy _because_ they showed me injustice. It was wrong. They speak of justice yet they didn't even give it to their own soldiers. I stayed because I wanted to prove something, to make a point and to change things."

"And have things changed?"

Her eyebrow's knitted together, "No, not really. I mean, with individuals it has. The people around me and my crew have a different mindset now... but the entire system hasn't changed a bit" Her eyes lowered, "I'm just one person after all."

"Then why do you continue to try?"

Why did she? She spoke the words at the same time the realization dawned on her. Her words were quiet, like she was telling a secret, "Because what I'm loyal to isn't Sengoku or the Navy, what I'm loyal to is myself and my own ideals. I'm loyal to the ideas of justice and freedom." The words were bold. She fiddled with her heart pendent and in an effort to water down the proclamation she added on, "...I guess."

"Gurarara, I see. An interesting brat you are."

"Ur, is that... all then?" Most of the audience was already gone, attention shifted elsewhere as they began to exit the galley, and Whitebeard wasn't asking her anything else. His questions were a little random and he hadn't given her any context as to why he had asked them.

"It is. You're free to go, girlie."

The red-head gave him a nod as she stood up and began to walk towards the doorway. She noticed a figure leaning against the large door frame, arms and legs crossed.

"Ace? What are you still doing here?"

"I just came in a few minutes ago," An almost childlike pout formed on his lips, "I missed breakfast didn't I."

Akane scouted the room and the only people still left there were the both of them, Whitebeard, and Marco who at some point ended up beside his captain. She turned to look back at Ace and shrugged, "Guess so. I did too."

She watched as Ace sighed while he pushed himself off the door frame and began to walk away from the galley. The girl caught up with him and began to walk in his pace.

"Why don't you just ask the chefs to make you food or something?"

"Can't. It _would_ be possible before breakfast cause they're already making the food but once the food is finished, the next group of chefs run in and start on lunch right away. I used to be able to ask them for food whenever I wanted but they know better than to do that now." Ace placed his hands behind his head and he turned to grin at her.

Akane squinted as she studied him, "Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not."

–

"Pops, what do you think yoi?"

Marco and Whitebeard were the two lone figures in the galley aside from the cooks behind the kitchen doors on the other side of the room. The first mate stood beside his captain questioningly as he waited for an answer.

"I think she's a wise brat." Whitebeard went over what the young Marine girl had told him. She definitely had a good head on her shoulders for her age, she had her own ideals and stood by them even when part of the Navy.

"But why ask questions like those?" Marco's eyebrows raised a bit, "Does it have to do with that Marine vessel we saw last night?"

Whitebeard closed his eyes and nodded, "It does. There's going to be a confrontation soon in the future and we have to be careful. The Navy is being far less reckless than usual which brings me to believe they are just as aware of her origins as I." He stood up from his chair and began to walk side by side with his son as they exited the galley. "It's not the fight we should be worried about, it's how we handle the girl. It needs to be that she won't want to return to the Navy on her own accord."

Marco began to tie loose ends together, "So we needed to know if she was loyal to the Navy or not yoi."

"Gurarara, you've caught on by now haven't you boy?"

–

Akainu was sitting in his given office of a warship. It was early morning and he was reading paperwork while drinking his hot, black coffee. The den den mushi on the desk began to ring as it received an incoming call.

Akainu picked up the snail and answered it, "Admiral Akainu. Speaking."

"Admiral sir, in the very early hours of this morning the Whitebeard Pirates' ship the Moby Dick was spotted. We analyzed and checked the direction in which they are headed. If they continue on the route they are on, they should reach the island of Helios in a bit over a week and a half. They'll hit the west side of the island first, that side of the island is called Hesperides."

"Good. That's all. You're dismissed of your mission."

"Thank you Admiral, sir!"

Akainu hung up the call and placed the den den mushi on the far corner of the desk. He shuffled the paperwork on his desk off to the sides to reveal a large map of part of the New World. It wasn't too detailed, but it would suffice. He dragged his finger along the carved wood as he looked for the island of Helios.

He had been on the island once before. It was an island with a warm climate and rich vegetation. It had many villages splayed out over it's surface and it was generally larger than the average island.

Akainu spotted Helios on the map and tapped on an island that was shaped like a perfect circle. The west side of the island was labeled Hesperides and the east side was Proenos. Cutting through the center of the island like the equator does the Earth, was a river named Okeanos.

Akainu downed the rest of his coffee and strode out of the office. Arriving on deck, everyone on the ship saluted him and waited for orders.

"Change course for the island of Helios. We need to reach the island in a bit over a week so we can't have any delays. Head for the east side, we'll dock there." He clasped his hands behind his back as he continued, "I'll inform Admiral Kizaru's ship about the update. Return to your duties."

The scowling Admiral walked to the figurehead of the ship and stood behind it. Three weeks. That brat would be with those pirates for a total of three weeks. There was no telling how much of his and all the other high ranking officers hard work on the girl would be corrupted in the short time frame.

He closed his eyes as he began to create a strategy in his mind.

–

_**[**__El Scorcho – Dashboard Confessional__**]**_

The days melted together and her time with the Whitebeard Pirates went by like a blur. Before she knew it, it was the night before they would hit the island Helios. The crowd on deck was unusually rowdy and excited, even men of the sea needed some time on land to break the stagnancy of their environment.

Akane watched the celebration from afar where she sat on the figurehead and smiled. As much as she wished it weren't true, she had grown fond of most of the pirates on the crew. Of course, there were those like Teach who she avoided as much as possible and stayed away from. Even the thought of him made her face scrunch up in dislike. But there were others that she had grown to like. People like the nurses, the chefs, the musicians, Vista, Izou, Thatch, Marco, Ace... even Whitebeard himself had proven to be not as ferocious and menacing as the stories all tell. When she first made her resolve on the ship, she had told herself to put up an act and try to get along as best as she could with the pirates... but at some point she stopped acting. She was herself. The self she hadn't known for years since she was given the role to lead others. The girl who didn't have to worry about responsibility or the lives of others or completing missions. The one who only desired for adventure and didn't need to worry about anything else. But now that the ship was creeping up to it's destination, her worries were returning.

Tomorrow they would dock at Helios and she was sure enough they would let her go alive. That's not what she was worried about. In fact, she wasn't sure if what she was feeling was worry at all. Her chest felt heavy and her limbs felt weak, the only time she had felt like this before was the first few days after her mother died and her village was in shambles. The feeling she held now wasn't as intense, but it felt similar in variety. It didn't make any sense to her at all.

"Hahaa, there you are Red! 'been lookin all over fer'ya."

Akane looked up in surprise as Ace walked towards her and sat down next to her, wearing a stupid, lopsided grin. She smiled at the tipsy pirate. Ace was one of the first Whitebeard Pirates she had met, their relationship changed a lot since they first ran into each other without a doubt. They went from trying to kill one another to becoming good friends over the course of three short weeks. It's not like she could control it anyway, he was just always conveniently there so it turned out that she spent the most time with him.

"Ace." She said in acknowledgment. "Why aren't you at the party?"

The tipsy pirate gave her a glare that held no substance. "'ve been there the 'ntire night. Besides," He held up a finger and poked the girl's forehead, "you n'ver join anyway, always sittin' here alone."

Akane let out a soft chuckle. "And why should I? I don't belong there."

"You do."

She looked over at the pirate who held a serious stare, she looked down to avoid his gaze, "I don't." She uncrossed her legs and stood up, the wind blew past her face and she tucked stray strands of red hair behind her ear. "You celebrate together because you are family. I am not."

Ace craned his head up at her and wore an unusually sympathetic frown."You don't think tha 'strue do you? Then what 'ave you been doing for the past couple weeks?"

Akane looked out at the water the Moby Dick was slowly cutting through. Her voice came out a lot more weak then she intended it to, "I don't know."

"I do." There was stumbling around until Ace stood next to the girl. He turned her around and took one of her smaller hands in each of his larger ones. Ace leaned down to smile and look into her disheartened eyes, "S'cause I'm a lot like you."

Akane broke their gaze and turned her head away from him. "We're nothing alike, you must be more drunk than I thought."

Ace frowned, "'m not as drunk as'you think I am." His face perked up when he heard the distant sounds of guitars and violins starting to play a song. The grown man grinned like a boy as he began to spin around with the girl in tow.

The girl groaned, "And what are you doing now?"

"Shh Jus' shutup 'n listen to the music!" He chuckled lightheartedly as he lead the girl around the happy dance.

"Okay, you're not just drunk, you're totally smashed." The only response she got was a loud laugh. "Just don't throw up on me or I'll kill you."

He let go of one of her hands and used it to wave away what she said. "I won't." Instead of holding her hand again, he wrapped his arm around her waist and began to lead the dance again. "'m jus bringing the party t' you."

"Y'know, I think I like you better when you're sober." This was a weird, too-happy, too-nice side of Ace she was not yet prepared to witness.

Ace smiled down cheekily at her, "Hahah, you know you love me."

Akane let out a joking laugh, "Love you? Starting tomorrow I'll never have to deal with you again."

Ace stopped dancing and frowned. The lighthearted atmosphere was gone and the pair was quiet, the background noise the only thing filling in the silence between them.

Ace let go of her hand but the grip on her waist tightened. "So you're really going to go tomorrow?"

Out of all the times for him to act sober, he chose now? "What were you expecting...?" She found it hard to hold his gaze, "Don't get me wrong, it was fun being with you guys but I have a crew of my own who probably think I'm long dead by now." Her voice quieted as she added on, "They deserve to know I'm alive at least."

"Then we'll tell 'em you're alive." He used the arm wrapped around Akane to pull her in closer, "Give me one good actual reason for you to leave."

Akane chuckled as she pushed herself off the man's chest. "Oh? Then give me one good actual reason for me to stay."

Warm lips pressed to hers before she could register it. The arm around her waist wrapped tighter and she felt fingers caressing her scalp. Her shock melted away, slowly closing her eyes, she gave in to the kiss. Tilting her head and hesitantly placing one of her hands on his bare chest while the other became lost in those dark brown wavy locks of his, she responded to him. She felt him trying to deepen the kiss and she was too far gone to refuse until she tasted the alcohol on his mouth.

Akane jerked back from him and began to catch her breath. Ace pressed his forehead to hers and was eye-level with her. His voice was a whisper only she could hear, "You belong here."

Emotions she couldn't describe swelled in her chest and she felt like crying for reasons God knows why. What he said would hold sentiment to her if his breath didn't smell so strongly of alcohol when he spoke it. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, she tried to control it but her voice was hoarse and shaky,

"You damn drunkard."

* * *

Holy crap they kissed! Hahah, I was actually planning on waiting a bit longer to write that but I thought it would really fit in that scene soo..

Also, I hope you guys aren't too upset I skipped the last part of the three weeks, technically it won't be skipped cause I'll be doing quite a few flashbacks about her time on the ship and conversations. (I hope)

A few things about this chapter:

-I really had to think about how Marco would react to the situation he found himself in when he was in Akane's room. Here's how I see it: He's a man somewhere in his mid-forties who's very easy going and has most likely seen quite a few woman naked before. So he was surprised at first because he wasn't expecting it, but at the same time it's not like he's seeing something new. Also I like the idea of Marco being flirty and laidback. The only times we've ever seen him in the anime are high-strung times where he's serious or in battle, so I like writing a more relaxed him. There's actually no canon about how he talks to woman or acts around them so technically he's not ooc? :D

-The island is something I made up. It's based on greek mythology you can read online, just google "Helios Mythology" and click on the second link. I don't know why I did it, I just needed something made up and since manga authors always use Japanese mythology, I thought I'd use my own culture's mythology too. (: Also the island is a perfect circle cause Helios = Sun. Also Hesperides = Evening , Proenos = Morning (West side, East side.. get it? :P)

-What I was thinking for the reason for the time skip was that it would show the drastic change from the first encounter to the last and would show how quickly things changed over a short period of time. I'm planning on having little snippets of stuff from the ship but I decided not to dwell too much on that since I didn't want to delay and hold back the "action" part of the story. Also, I've split this story into about 2-3ish arcs, we're only nearing the climax of the first so there's still going to be chapters for a long while. (:

-I'd like to think Ace is a very playful happy drunk.

**Replies!**

**kage kitsune 14: **Not exactly! I don't think the Whitebeard Pirates would take that approach. It's more like they're trying to get Akane to convince herself. Think about when Ace was first there, they didn't force him to join or try to push him. They just gave him room and time to think about it. (:

**Lanny: **I'm sorry to hear that, urrrr atleast he acted a little sexy at the beginning of the chapter? :P I will! I'm still figuring out the details as I go but I want Marco to have a really big part in the turning point of the plot.

**brokenmaelstrom: **ahhh I love them a lot too and it makes me so happy to hear you think that akgnlalkgnag. I liked the format as well but I thought it was becoming a bit too repetitive and now that I had a break from this story I came back with a fresh look at it. (:

**Akira-chan:** You like it so much you're singing? I'm doing a better job than I though. ;D

**Legacy009: **Glad you're loving it! heehee and that's kind of what I was going for with her character, in my head she started out as a mash up of erza scarlet, mikasa ackerman, sakura haruno and just a bunch of badass ladies. But I guess the biggest influence was Erza Scarlet. I think she's one of the best female characters out there and I guess I molded a character after her. There are of course lots of differences between them, but the biggest similarity is their strength and their hair. :P

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan: **Ahh I know, it's just when I mold a personality and it does a 180 it doesn't feel right. But there was reason behind it and it's slowly being revealed in the story, like close to the end of this chapter when she thinks about her true self. AHHHH I HAVE to write that some point in the story, even if it's just a small omake at the end of the epilogue or something :'D

**Taz-Sae: **Thank you, I just hope I didn't ruin your thoughts with this chapter ;-; But there are pirates on the crew she avoids still, creepy ones like Teach and unnamed ones. Cause hey, I don't care how awesome the WB pirates are, there are over 700 on the moby dick in the story so some of them gotta be like how "actual" pirates act.

**Benii: **Ah I enjoy a good love triangle like that too _ but I just think (my) Marco would be too mature for stuff like that, considering his backstory with past loves (which will be revealed eventually and I'm even planning on writing a little side oneshot on his past love!) hahah, I do love that triangle so maybe I will in the future! I don't think it'll be a too serious fic though, more comedy centered :)

Thanks for the nice reviews guys, they seriously motivate me and make me feel like I'm not just writing this entire story from my head out for no reason at all. Though of course I will still continue the story no matter what, it keeps me going seeing so many positive reviews from you guys. You guys are amazing. :*

I'll be updating regularly every Friday with school starting next week and all (sobs)

Bye now! :D


	7. Chapter 7: Little Soldier Girl

Urrr, I'm two weeks and a day late, sorry, so so sorry. School started up and I needed time to adjust to the workload, I actually had to force myself to put time in for this chapter haha :P I wrote a lot of it this Thursday but the majority of it today, I figured that I should just do it all today since it's my only free day of the week now.

I struggled writing out this chapter, mostly because the plot could go down so many different directions and I was thinking a lot on which one I should choose. Thankfully, I think I have a clear one set out now.

I'll try to keep up with the update schedule, but consider it more of a default update day. I'll try to do Friday's but it won't always be doable, nonetheless, I really like where this story is going.

I read over this once as of now so when I read it again I'll fix any errors in spelling or grammar, but for now Enjoy! :D

* * *

_**[**__Kids – Vitamin String Quartet__**]**_

She had hardly slept at all. She had spent the whole night tossing and turning in frustration. The fact that she stayed up all night frustrated, frustrated her more. It wasn't like she was a newbie to the whole romance scene, she flirted with her fair share of men , but never this. The kiss. Her first kiss, caught her off-gaurd, and yet she still returned it. Even though she scampered off after it happened, she had to admit she enjoyed the feeling of it as well- not that she would ever tell that damned pirate that, and God forbid he ever found out it was her first kiss. The thought of him using the information as blackmail made her shudder and stuff her face into her pillow.

So now here she was, twisted in covers and thoroughly exhausted. The early morning light shone through the small porthole. The Moby Dick was probably already anchored off shore to Helios, she didn't feel the ship rocking like it usually did. With nothing else to do, Akane threw the covers off of her and dressed in her day clothes: her black tank top and black shorts she got from the nurses a long while ago. After slipping on the soft clothing, her eye caught shiny pink hanging on a hook to the side of the room. She hadn't worn the kimono as of late, maybe she should wear it today. She walked over to the hook and took the pink silk off, dressing herself in it. Standing in front of the slim, vertical mirror she looked at her reflection, content.

Stepping out of her room, she noticed that the ship was quiet all around her. It made sense considering how early in the morning it was, she _did_ jump out of bed as soon as she could. The red-head routinely made her way to the galley, seeing as there was no where else she could go at that time in the day. Walking through the eerily quiet hallway reminded her of her days of waking up first as the captain of her own crew. Her brows furrowed, where would she go from here? Would she return to her crew and continue where she left off, receiving and completing missions for the government?

Her legs carried her to the galley as she was lost in her muddled thoughts, she stood in the middle aisle in a daze as she stared into space.

"You're up early."

The voice was unexpected and it surprised her, she turned to face the owner of it. She was met with a tired-eyed redhead sitting at one of the tables, resting his chin on his knuckles.

"Thatch? What're you doing here?" Akane was genuinely surprised, did these people ever sleep at all? She walked over to where he was sitting and sat across from him.

"Ah well, a few of us had to wake up real early to dock the ship. Most of them just went back to sleep afterward, I'm not that kind of guy though, can't go back to sleep once I wake up." He opened his fisted hand and let his cheek sit comfortably in it, sleepily smiling at her.

She gave an exhausted chuckle at his tired state, "I know the feeling, believe me." The talk of sleep made her instinctively yawn. She jumped when the kitchen swing doors opened, revealing a chef walking through with a plate of breakfast and a coffee on a tray.

Thatch's eyes lit up at the sight of the food, "Ah, thanks! Hey could you bring another plate for the lovely Miss as well?" He turned his head to give her a toothy smile, seemingly instantly energized.

"No, I'm fine," she mumbled, waving her hands in defense, "I don't really have an appetite."

"Oh nonsense!" The insistent pirate turned back to the chef, "Just bring a little something for the lady alright?" The confused chef simply nodded in response and headed back to the kitchen.

Akane sighed, tired and defeated, "I told you, I'm really not-"

"Is this all cause you're worried about what's going to happen today or something?" Thatch was looking at her with a serious expression, his eyes steady and piercing, much unlike his usual upbeat self.

"What? No, I just..." She really didn't know what it was, it was a mix of everything. The separation to come, the memories, the kiss, the new friendships, her duty, her future from here, it was all tied tightly in a tangled web and she couldn't decipher her emotions from one to the other. She dug her hand into her hair and rested her elbow on the table, "I don't know."

"I know what you're going through you know." He took a mouthful of eggs into his mouth and swallowed the chewed food, washing it down with a sip of coffee, "It was a long time ago, I was a bit older than yourself, and I had to choose between joining the Whitebeard's or staying with the crew I was with before. Of course, Pops said he would kill me if I didn't join him- if I tried to return to my old crew."

She hummed in response. "Doesn't seem like you had much of a choice."

He chuckled through a mouthful of food, "Guess not. But you know what? It was better that way. I know in my heart I secretly wanted to join Pops, he's super strong and I instantly held respect for him when I first spoke to him. Pops cutting down my options to only one helped push me towards what I already wanted but was too scared to choose on my own. I happily chose to stay with Pops, and he granted protection to me when my old crew tried to kill me for betrayal." He paused in his story-telling, taking another sip of his coffee with a serious face, "The crew I was in before I met Pops was bad, the worst of the worst. No matter how long I live, I'll never be able to repay for the sins I committed. But having a family like this one, it makes it easier to get through the day."

She stared at the man with an enlightened face, she responded quietly, "Not that I don't appreciate that you're willing to tell me this, but why are you telling me this exactly?"

He flashed his natural smile, "Well, I thought it would help you out. See right now you think that your path is opening in too many directions and you feel lost," he leaned in closer to her over the table, "but it's really only two paths for you right now: returning to the Navy, or doing what you want to do, and you know in your heart which path you want to pursue don't you?" He wore an all-knowing smirk as he leaned back into his seat.

Akane sat surprised and blinked for a few moments before she could mouth words for a response, "And how are you so sure that those two paths aren't one and the same?"

He chuckled and shook his head, "I'm better at reading people than I look." He shrugged his shoulders and sighed, "Listen, stop over complicating things. I'm not going to tell you what to choose, but a little piece advice: pick what you truly want, even if you'll have to deal with the consequences afterward, because, believe me, it's worth the baggage." He downed the last bit of his coffee as the same chef returned with Akane's food. He stood up and looked down at her with a gentle smile, "Just sit down and think for a bit alright? I have to go start waking up the rest of the guys so just enjoy your meal quietly alright Miss Akane?" He ruffled her hair as he passed by her on his way to leave.

She mumbled more to herself than to him, "I've been thinking a lot, believe me."

She ate her breakfast alone in silence as she mulled over what Thatch had said to her. Akane just finished eating as the earlybirds of the crew were pouring in for their share of food. She got up from her seat to make room and put her plate away. As she was passing by the slowly filling tables she was given morning greetings by the pirates she had gotten to know over the past few weeks and the imminent feeling of closure was continuing to creep up on her with each table she passed and each smile she received.

Finding it hard to breathe, Akane hurriedly returned the plate to the kitchen and strode out of the galley. She made her way through memorized hallways to make it to the deck. The fresh air hit her and she found that she was intaking gasps of it through her mouth as if she were breaking through the surface of water, deprived of it. Her knees felt weak and her mind swirled in dizziness. She couldn't take in the area around her because she couldn't focus, but in her dazed state she felt someone shaking her shoulders quite violently as if to jostle her awake. Her blurred vision tried to center as she was forced to fight the strange feeling washing over her. Her hearing felt like she was underwater but she could pick up someone trying to call out to her.

"-ane, oi! Miss Akane!"

Her vision was covered in black spots but she could make out who it was. She had to search for her voice through gasps of air, coming out raspy, "Marco..." Her body weight fell forward and he supported her up.

"It's alright, just breathe alright? Can you hear me? Breathe slowly." His voice was the only thing she could focus on at that point and she let herself go, giving him all her weight to hold as she let her vision drown in black. The first commander looked up to acknowledge the crowd gathered around the scene, "She'll be fine, nothing to see now yoi, move along." He shooed away the worried crowd, but they complied, returning to their original plans of filling their stomachs.

Marco picked up the unconscious girl into his arms and strode in the opposite direction. It probably wasn't anything too serious, but it didn't hurt to get her checked up. The bundle in his arms murmured nonsense as he made his way to the infirmary hall.

When he reached the girl's door, he hip-bumped it open and walked over to the bed, placing the girl gently on the mattress. Marco habitually ruffled her red locks before going off to find one of the nurses.

"It seemed like she had a panic attack. Stress coupled with things like sleep depravity can cause strong attacks. She fell unconscious because of the lack of oxygen to her brain from hyperventilating, but she'll be alright with a bit of rest." The nurse gave the synopsis of her diagnosis as she was putting away her equipment. "I don't know exactly what's going on with her, but I think she's dealing with a very heavy burden right now and it's taken it's toll on her. She's such a young girl as well, no matter how mature she is for her age, the mind isn't fully developed at that age. Immature minds are easier to stress and break down..." She finished packing the equipment and looked up at Marco, "Commander, please don't let anyone do anything to stress her out more, she's... exhausted, mentally and physically." Her eyes lingered a bit before she nodded to him and walked out of the room carrying her bag.

Marco sat on the bed and watched the sleeping figure, "Exhausted, huh." He brought a hand up and gently swept away strands of her hair with the sides of his knuckles, bringing the locks away from her face and stroking her forehead with his thumb. He shook his head and chuckled to himself. He absentmindedly added the rest of his fingers to the stroking movement and began to softly pet the top of her head. "Spoiled brat."

* * *

_**[**__Kiss Me – Ed Sheeran__**]**_

The first thing Ace registered when he woke up was the relentless pounding on the insides of his head. He moaned and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow. The light outside from the porthole was too bright for his tired eyes, it was probably already late morning and he sighed when he realized he probably missed breakfast yet again.

He closed his eyes and recalled the dreams he had last night, or were they reality? He couldn't tell or remember quite right exactly so it didn't matter. His dreams were all over the place last night, he could still remember the chaos of it all. Things like a circus show, talking animals, a banquet, and a whole mess of things he couldn't quite grasp from his memory were there. There was something else too, something he felt like he _should_ remember but couldn't.

He groaned and rolled out of bed, landing on the floor on his butt. Running his fingers through his hair, he stumbled over to pick up his shorts and put them on, fastening them loosely with his belt. He located his boots thrown haphazardly across the floor and trudged to collect them and put them on.

Ace squinted and looked at the light coming from out of the small window. If his memories weren't completely a mess, he was sure that they should be ported at that island today. His eyes widened, was the thing he wanted to remember have something to do with the island? He sighed and made his way out of his room, entering out into the Commander's hallway.

As he walked through halls, his legs stopped moving on their own accord. Surprised at this own actions, he looked around to see what had influenced him. His eyes landed on a sign that had 'Sick Bay' in black paint written on it.

His head throbbed and he held a hand up to his forehead to support it. So the memory has something to do with the Sick Bay then? Ace heard a door creak open and he looked up to see Marco slipping out of one of the rooms.

"Marco? What's up?" It was a rare sight to see the regenerative phoenix anywhere near the infirmary.

"Akane caused a bit of a scene a little while earlier, she's resting now yoi."

_Akane. _The memory definitely had to do something with her, he was sure of it. The blank wall in his mind frustrated him and he found himself walking towards her door, that is, if Marco didn't sidestep in his way.

"Oi. The nurse said to let her rest." Marco looked down into Ace's eyes as he spoke, just hoping the one-track-mind behind them understood what he meant.

"Damn it Marco, just move! I need to see her, it's important!" Maybe if he saw her he would remember what the hell has been swirling out of reach in his mind.

"It can wait, yoi. We're going to wake her up when we set foot on the island anyway." He swung an arm over the shorter male's shoulders and began to guide him out of the hallway, "It'll only be about two hours before we can start getting off the ship. Pops said once we get the provisions storage ready we can start gathering supplies from the island."

Ace slipped out of his hold and turned around, intending to see Akane. "Enticing as that sounds, I need to see her now. I won't wake her, I just need to see her for a sec alright?"

Marco sighed but complied, "Fine yoi. Just be quiet when you're in there." He looked at the younger male a moment longer before continuing out of the hall, leaving Ace alone.

Ace took a deep breath in before turning the knob of the wooden door, the sound of it creaking echoed throughout the quiet room. He slowly made his was to the bed at the other end of the small space, his eyes on the person sleeping under the covers. He stood there, at the head of the bed, as memories from last night began to creep out of his foggy mind.

"_Give me one good actual reason for me to stay."_

He had kissed her- or atleast he thought he did. Was that a dream or reality? No it couldn't have been one of the crazy dreams, he could vividly remember how soft and warm her lips felt against his.

"_You belong here."_

Ace hesitantly sat down on the mattress, tilting his head to get a better look at her relaxed features. His eyes rested on her parted lips, quietly breathing in air. They enticed him and he decided that he would quite enjoy tasting them again, this time with a sober mind.

He gently placed his hand beside her head on the pillow and used it as support as he slowly leaned down to her. He rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes, taking in the feeling of his lips hovering a hair's breadth away from hers.

"_You damn drunkard."_

Ace opened his eyes and bit the side of his lower lip. Reluctantly, he shuddered a sigh and pulled away from her. He remembered how upset she was after he had kissed her, and after that she disappeared for the rest of the night. He lifted his hand off the pillow and brought it to her cheek, holding her gently so she wouldn't wake up. He absentmindedly stroked her bottom lip with his thumb as he remembered how it felt the night before.

Suddenly, he felt dirty. There he was, stroking an innocent, unconscious woman's lower lip as he thought about taking it in between his own pair. He's dirty down to his bones. He's a pirate, he has done more wrong than he could ever recount, he has the blood of a demon in his veins, and right then he just felt like any old pervert. He recoiled his hand and stood up, stumbling a few steps away from the bed.

He pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead as he quickly made his way out of the room. He knew better than anyone that he didn't deserve to be loved, but he couldn't help his damned self. Thinking things and letting his mind wander over her was pointless, because in the end she was ultimately a Marine and today was likely the last day he would ever see her again. The world is big, who knows where she could be by tomorrow, by then she would have already forgotten her time on the Moby Dick.

The throbbing hangover he had ignored was returning among the list of turmoil that was growing in his head. He tried to get away from the room as far as possible, escaping to the upper deck.

* * *

_**[**__Nuvole Bianche – Ludovico Einaudi__**]**_

"_Mommy, do I have a dad?"_

_The woman she was looking up at met her eyes and giggled, "Of course you do sweetheart, everybody is born from a mommy and daddy." _

_She tilted her head in confusion, "Then how come I never seen daddy before?"_

_Her mother crouched down to meet her eyes, "Daddy's been a bit busy, but you'll meet him soon."_

"_What?" She looked down at her body and noticed that she was grown up now. "Dad... he's still alive?"_

_Her mother stood up and was eye level with her daughter, "Without a doubt," Elizabeth reached out and held the heart pendant that hung around her daughter's neck with her thumb and index finger, "I think you're old enough to know now." _

"_Really? You'll tell me?" She spoke hopefully to the smiling woman across from her._

"_Of course," the hand that was holding the necklace then rested on her shoulder, "You see..." She started to violently shake her, "Akane! Akane! Aka-"_

"_Ow! Stop it! Mom, stop!"_

"-ne!"

"Ow! Stop it! Mom, stop!" She instinctively swung an arm out and felt it make hard contact with something.

"Ah! Damn it. Haki in your sleep, seriously, yoi?" Marco rubbed his quickly healing bruised temple. "I was trying to wake you. We're readying to set foot on the island, you can't stay in here."

"Well hell, I'd love to be woken up like that all the time." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. Her mood was definitely foul and despite the well needed rest she felt tired.

He frowned, "Are you alright? You called out for your mother yoi." His voice sounded a bit concerned.

Akane froze. Did she? That's right, she had dreamed about her mother. It was surreal. Vivid. For the first time, she was her present self speaking to her mother, not a little girl. It wasn't just another memory this time, she had actually dreamed up a completely new scenario.

"O-oi.. Miss Akane..." His arms reached out and wrapped around her shoulders, bringing her upper body in to his chest. "You're crying."

"So?" She sounded just as defeated as she felt. She hated to cry in front of others... But her mother! She saw her mother! For once it wasn't a violent, bloody nightmare either, her mother was there and she felt warm and she sounded happy and Akane never realized just how much she missed her until then.

"C'mon yoi, let's go," He pushed her away from his chest just enough so he could look into her eyes. He smiled as he spoke, "This is the moment you've been waiting for all this time isn't it?"

She wiped her tears away with the sleeves of her kimono and nodded into the pink silk.

"Alright, then what are we waiting for? They're all waiting for us up top." He pointed above them. He shifted so he could stand up from the bed and turned to look at Akane still sitting there.

He sighed, the concern the nurse had earlier about her condition still lingering at the back of his mind worried him. He began to hum an old tune in an attempt at relaxing her like one would with a child, "Little soldier girl..." He hummed, "come marching home, brave soldier girl, comes marching home..."

A small smile played on her lips as she heard him sing. His singing was relaxed and soothing, his voice a smooth tenor. She let out a small giggle, "Alright, alright, I'm not a baby that has to be lulled out of a fit. I'm fine."

"Really? I'm not so sure." One of his hands rested on his hips while he waited for her as she stood up.

"I'm not a baby! You're just an old geezer!"

The immature bickering continued as they made their way up to the deck. Marco simply played along, figuring the teasing was a coping mechanism the girl used to relax herself during nerve wracking situations.

People on deck were already loading barrels and crates onto rowing boats. The massive ship has to be anchored quite a far distance off the shore, so once the vessel reaches a certain point the crew has to manually row to the island in groups. Whitebeard was standing and watching over the work being done, his bisento in hand.

"We're ready to go Pops, there's no one left below deck yoi." Marco said as he walked over to Whitebeard with Akane in tow.

"Good. Then I guess it's time." Marco nodded in response, waiting for his Captain's next move. Akane jumped when Whitebeard pounded the bottom of his bisento on the deck, drawing all attention to him. "Men! Tell me, how did you find the visitor these past few weeks?"

Happy roars and shouts erupted from the crew all over the deck, almost everyone seemingly having a more or less positive view on the soldier girl.

"I thought it was so. Akane," The addressed girl craned her head up and swallowed, Whitebeard had never used her name before and the thought of it made her a bit nervous. "I give you two options: Die here... or become my daughter as a Whitebeard Pirate."

Her jaw slackened, he wasn't... going to let her go? All this time she was sure on the fact that being in good terms with the crew would mean that she would leave alive, not that it would entice them to have her join their crew. Her mind blanked. But... was it really a bad thing? Truly? She had admitted it to herself that being with them had given her back a part of herself she lost years ago, didn't that mean being here was better for her? But did he really have to threaten to kill her otherwise?

"_I know in my heart I secretly wanted to join Pops, he's super strong and I instantly held respect for him when I first spoke to him. Pops cutting down my options to only one helped push me towards what I already wanted but was too scared to choose on my own."_

Her troubles cleared with the epiphany; he had known what she wanted more than she knew it herself.

"_Pick what you truly want, even if you'll have to deal with the consequences afterward, because, believe me, it's worth the baggage."_

Her features relaxed and she wore a small smile. "Sure thing, Captain."

* * *

Whoop, so there it is, the big reveal! So everything is going to go well from here... or will they? (:

A few things about this chapter:

-Since Thatch's past was never revealed in canon, I decided to make up a bit of my own. I feel like that sort of past suits him, since he's always acting positive and happy in fanarts and in the little canon that we saw him in. I feel like he would act like that since he realizes that he's lucky for the life he has with the crew.

-Writing the panic attack was kind of hard, I experienced a mild one with hyperventilating before but nothing too intense so I had to kind of just guess what would happen, of course backed up with real symptoms but yeaah. I feel like it would only be normal for her, since she had so many things burdening her and stressing her out. If you noticed, one of the bigger reasons she felt that way was because of 'the separation to come'. I wrote this out because Akane hasn't felt that attached to anyone since her time with her mother. Her separation from her mother was violent and traumatic, so the thought of parting ways with all the people she formed bonds with made her subconsciously panic and it pained her.

-Ace woke up very late in the morning so by the time he talked to Marco, how much time had passed while Marco sat in the infirmary? ;D

-It's not that Ace didn't care about what happened to Akane, it's just that he was hungover and frustrated out so he wanted to get answers to clear his mind. Plus, he knows she's strong and that she can take care of herself.

-I really wanted Ace to kiss her, I really really _really_ did. I was tempted to do it too, but I couldn't. We know up until the moment he died, Ace considered himself undeserving of love. "Even though I have the blood of a demon, thank you for loving me." So I feel like his self-hate would hold him back from truly being involved with someone romantically, he would ultimately feel unworthy of it. (In my idea atleat, idk some people may interpret his issues differently) So that's definitely something that needs to be resolved before the end of the story. (Besides, I don't want my bby to hate himself ;-;)

-Hmm, the foreshadowing of Akane's dream.. (:

-Okay okay, I dont care if Marco singing is ooc, or if it even is ooc, I _really_ wanted to put that in there. It was kinda spontaneous and wasn't supposed to be there but I really liked it. & did I really use Leaves From a Vine in a fic? Yes. What? What crossovers are you talking about? haha

-I really like Thatch's character and up until now I haven't given him much time in the plot, so I wanted him to have kind of an influence on Akane's choice to stay. Also, he'll be in the story a lot in a later arc, just a hint: we'll start flowing into canon territory eventually.

**Replies!**

**Guest: **Hmm are you the same guest that was Akira-chan? Heehee, yes they did! Oops, I didn't write it fast, please don't kill me D: lol

**Lanny: **LOL believe me, I was giggling like an idiot when I was writing Marco acting like a pervert. Hmm, I really have to think about reactions, but tbh I really think most of the crew would be like "hahah it's about time!" & Marco's a grown man, I don't think he'll be_ too_ butt hurt over it. Unfortunately, the romance side of the plot is going to be pushed to the side a bit because I'll be starting on "actual" plot as of now. Of course there will be development between characters, but the atmosphere is going to be too serious to be worrying about "Oh my gosh, you guys kissed?" haha :P & I'm glad you like the songs, I kind of like adding them, it helps with the atmosphere.

**desirae668: **Ahhh Im so sorrrryyy, please forgive me? :D To be honest I felt like holding off writing the chapter even longer because I was too lazy to write it but then I read your review today and it got my ass on the computer to type this shit out LOL spent most of my day doing it but it's worth it. I gotta say, it made me supper bubble to hear that you actually check up on this fic for updates, haha :$

So that's it for this update. I wil try to update every week, but again, with school now it'll be a bit hard to keep it punctual. I'm honestly so giddy at the thought that people are actually keeping up with my writing hahaha :$ Thanks everyone!

Review? (:


	8. Chapter 8: Liar

Here I am, a week late again. Haha, I think every two weeks is basically going to be the normal update from now on, but who knows.

This chapter is really fast paced and a lot of stuff happens. The next few chapters from this one will be filled with stuff too, so it gets a bit hard to write. & lord knows I struggled with picking the songs and placement. -_-

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

_**[**__Paradise – Vitamin String Quartet__**]**_

_"Sure thing, Captain." _

Cheers of mirth from the crew resounded with her answer, it was the most surreal thing Akane had ever experienced. She knew she'd have to deal with the Navy though, and it kept her on edge. But she smiled, remembering that Thatch had said it was worth it all.

Marco who was standing beside her the entire time, slung an arm over her shoulders and brought her in to his chest. "Welcome to the crew, yoi." He grinned down at her leisurely.

"You..." No he couldn't have... "You knew that this was going to happen the entire time didn't you!" She huffed in annoyance at the realization. Marco probably had known for ages that Whitebeard was going to ask her to join the crew and he didn't even hint her at it at all, leaving her a messy puddle of stress and anxiety!

"Hmm?" He smiled and avoided her accusation as he walked with her over to where the majority of the crew was. "Alright guys, we can celebrate later yoi. We still have to stock up on supplies, so let's get moving." The crew complied, getting back to their tasks but with new found cheerfulness

"Akane."

She ducked out of Marco's arm to turn around and look at Whitebeard. It was odd, that this man was now her captain. She addressed him the same way she would address a Marine of higher rank. She stood with her back straight and her feet together, raising a hand in a solid salute. "Yes sir!"

She could hear bouts of snickers from the men around her and the blood rushed to her cheeks. She was wavering between wanting to keep the salute and dropping it.

She spotted Thatch walking up to her, holding his stomach with laughter. He used his other hand to ruffle the top of her head. "Haha- How cute!" She sent him a mock glare and looked over to Marco to see if he would help her out, but she became even more flustered when she realized he was trying his hardest to hold back his own laughter, holding a hand over his mouth and looking away. Thatch caught his breath and wiped a tear from his eye, "You don't need to do all that formal crap here, we're a family." His face became a bit more serious as he continued, "But you do still need to show respect to your elders alright." He turned to face Whitebeard and used Akane's head as an armrest, "Isn't that right Pops?" Thatch grinned.

"Shut it Thatch, you were no better when you first had joined as well." Whitebeard said with amusement. Thatch wore a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head as chuckles from the rest of the onlookers were heard.

Whitebeard grunted and everyone's attention was brought back to him. He whistled in a steady tone and a few mere seconds later, a large white ball of fur came running from around a corner. Stefan sat at Whitebeard's feet, looking excited while he panted.

Whitebeard leaned down a bit so he could pat his dog's head. "As I was going to say before, I want you to explore the island with Stefan here. He has good sense so he should be able to sniff out any trouble."

"Trouble?" Her brows furrowed, "Is there something wrong?" An uneasy feeling was beginning to form in her gut.

"Nothing to worry for. Just let him guide you. You'll be with Vista and a group of others for your first exploration, listen to your gut and your seniors. Got it, brat?" He looked at her, expecting her to answer.

"Yes si-" She caught herself slipping into the formalities and perfect posture again, "Captain." She corrected herself, smiling up at him. She looked over to Stefan who had walked up to her and she pet his muzzle.

"Good." Whitebeard looked up and straightened his back, "Men! We'll be docked at this island for two days. Stock up on supplies, after that you are free to do as you wish."

The crew gave grunts of acknowledgment to the orders as they finished up loading the boats.

A bit lost at what to do, Akane scanned over the crew and one of her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Where's Ace?" She was speaking mostly to herself but someone responded from behind her.

"He left for the island on his Striker a couple hours ago. He seemed a bit upset, probably needed some time alone." Vista said, pinching at his mustache.

"Huh." Akane deadpanned, rolling her lips over her teeth into her mouth as she nodded. Could it be that he remembered what happened the night before? "Ah, um, Mister Vista, Whitebeard said I would be with your group for the exploration?" She said questioningly as if to confirm the orders.

"That's correct, you'll be with my division for this island. We should be leaving any moment now, follow me." He told her as he turned around and began to walk to one of the seven boats being loaded with empty barrels and boxes.

They were much larger up close. Compared to the Moby Dick they were small, but the long boats could easily hold a hundred people each. Half were already loaded onto davits and being lowered into the ocean.

The Fifth Division's long boat was harnessed onto the davit and ready to descend. They were the last to get on, she followed Vista onto the boat with Stefan at her heels. She took a seat on one of the many rows of benches and Stefan curled up, resting his head on his paws. She smiled down at the big fluff ball and pet him with her toes.

The ride to the island was short. With a good hundred men rowing the boat, it practically hovered across the water. When they hit the shore, Stefan's head shot up and he jumped out of the boat, Akane giggled, following the giant canine.

Once everyone was off the long boat, Vista split the hundred men into four groups of twenty five, sending three of them off to stock up on supplies. He would lead the last group, with Akane and Stefan as an addition to it.

* * *

Akane thought it must have been around two hours since they started gathering various foods ranging from freshly hunted beasts to berries off of trees. The island was huge with massive plantation to match. There was no village in sight despite the amount of time they walked and the heat was sweltering. Akane was never one for extremely humid tropical climates.

She groaned from the top of Stefan's back where she lay. She did feel a tad bit guilty that she was a deadweight for the dog that was probably suffering from the heat more than she was, but he seemed fine with it and she wasn't one to protest.

One of the burly pirates carrying a large jungle beast over his shoulder grunted and chastised her, "What are you complaining about, you're not even walking."

"I'm not used to extreme heats, I lived most my life on a balanced, four seasoned island." She sighed in reply.

"But as a Marine Captain you had surely been on summer islands before, have you not?" Vista added in questioningly.

Her face scrunched up in a grimace as she thought all the islands over, "Don't remind me."

Just then, an explosion was heard in the distance and the ground shook from the shock. The rumbling stopped and smoke began to rise in the sky closer to the other side of the island.

Akane lifted her upper body on her elbows to look at everyone else, "What was that?"

It seemed everyone was caught a bit off guard as well.

"An attack?"

"Do you think it's our crew?"

"This island isn't hostile though."

"Smoke... could it be Ace? No one's seen him in a while."

Vista raised his voice over everyone's so he could be heard, "Quiet! We can go investigate, we were already about to head in that direction anyway."

The walk was brisk and quiet, everyone feeling somewhat tense and on guard. The explosions had continued the entire walk until they had suddenly stopped. Whoever was fighting had just found the victor.

She looked down when she felt Stefan rumbling underneath her. His ears were flat and his teeth bared, he looked extremely aggressive.

"Stefan? What's up boy?" She tried petting the back of his neck in an attempt to relax him. Stefan was reacting strangely, then again Whitebeard _had_ said...

"Something's wrong." Vista answered her, looking very grim.

She opened her mouth to reply but before words could form, Stefan bolted forward with her on his back. She yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall. She could hear shouts behind her but the dog was incredibly fast, leaving her group in the distance.

"Stefan stop!" Akane tried bringing the dog to it's senses but it wouldn't listen to her commands. They raced past trees and she stuffed her face to the back of his neck so nothing would hit her.

It had been a few minutes of intense running until Stefan reached a clearing that looked like a decimated battlefield. There were craters and the plantation surrounding the area was charred. Akane peeked out from behind Stefan's head to sneak a look at what was going on.

"Akane."

Her blood ran cold and her heart nearly stopped. She fought back trembles and tried to muster up a few words to reply.

"Admiral Akainu sir." She sighed internally that she managed to keep her voice from shaking.

"It seems you managed to escape the pirates, good. Help bring this one back to the ship then."

Her eyes widened when she looked to Akainu's feet and saw Ace laying there, beaten up and in handcuffs, grinding his teeth and looking up at her.

Akane slid off of Stefan's back and began to walk towards the scene in front of her when the dog bit on her shirt and tugged, trying to keep her back.

She turned to look at Stefan and glared into his eyes, "Let me go, _mutt_." She saw the recognition in his eyes and he let go, letting out a soft whimper. The dog wouldn't turn back, so she slapped it on it's muzzle, making it flinch and back away a few steps from her.

Akane walked forward and stood in front of Akainu and saluted him. He looked down at her with scrutiny for a few moments before turning his back to her. "Let's go then."

"Yes sir." She bent down and grabbed Ace by the hair and forced him to his feet. She then wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, her fingernails digging into his throat.

"You fucking _liar_." He hissed, glaring at her. "So this was your plan all along. You filthy liar, you fucking lied about _everything_ didn't you." His accusations were dripping with malice.

She looked away without emotion, unable to hold his glare."Shut up. Pirate." She then brought her eyes to Akainu's back. "With all do respect sir, why didn't you just kill him?"

Without turning around, he answered her, "Because, a demon like _him_ deserves a public execution."

Ace let out a hoarse snarl, then silence hung for a few moments before Akane replied, "I see."

Ace tried to wriggle out of the grip around his neck. But Akane merely tightened her grip, digging her nails deeper into his skin, making him gag. She spoke calmly to him, "Please don't make this harder for the both of us."

"I'll kill you, I swear to God I'll kill you." His voice was so menacing it sent a chill down her spine even though she tried to suppress her reaction as much as she could.

"Sure you will." She tried her best to keep her tone even.

"Soldier Akane, we'll be reaching the ship anytime now. I want you to take him to the brig and lock him up."

"Yes sir."

* * *

_**[**__Liar – Mumford and Sons__**]**_

They reached the Navy vessel in a short amount of time. Akainu gave orders for the ship to sail in fifteen minutes.

Akane dragged Ace down levels until they reached the brig. It was empty and isolated. Akane sighed in relief at the fact, it made her life just a bit easier.

"What are you so relaxed about? You know I can still kill you even if I'm cuffed right?"

She grunted in annoyance and picked a ring of keys off a hook. "I know you can, so there really is no point to these cuffs right?" She found the key that fit into the lock and the handcuffs clicked open, falling off of his wrists.

Ace's anger disappeared in place of surprised confusion, "What the hell are you doing." He said disbelievingly.

"What do you think, idiot."

In a flash she was thrown against the wall and felt hands grip around her throat. She instinctively scratched at them and gasped for air.

"Don't play stupid with me. He told me everything. How you were assigned to that island so you could run into us and get close to us. I was right from the very beginning, you were just acting." One of his hands left her throat and dug into his hair as his head fell. "I- Fuck, I _trusted_ you. I even..."

"Are you really that dense?" She managed to cough out. "Damn it Ace, Akainu may be manipulative and intelligent but he's not _psychic_. He played you, idiot. He got into your head."

He raised his head and glared at her, "And why should I trust you after everything?"

She took in a gasp of air so she could reply, "I unchained you didn't I? I had to wait to bring you here, I'm not an idiot like you who thinks they can stand against enemies they can't beat." Her lips tugged to one side to form a strained smirk.

She sucked in air as the grip around her neck noticeably loosened. "_Damn it_ Red, you're insane."

Akane just chuckled in response, at least he was in his senses enough to call her by that name. "Just go now. You're pretty roughed up so just try not to cause a scene when you sneak off."

He shook his head and smiled, "I can't believe you. God- I... I really thought that you'd- you're _really_ good at lying."

Her lips twitched into a small smile, "I've been told."

Ace took her wrist in his hand and began to lead her out of the brig. She was caught off guard, "What are you doing?"

He looked at her as matter of factly, "We're leaving aren't we?"

She planted both her feet on the floor and stopped him, "No, we're not. _You_ are. I'm staying here, I have to deal with the mess."

His face turned furious, "What are you saying? You're screwed if you stay here."

"No I'm not. I'm good at lying remember? We can't both leave, it'll cut your escape time in half. I was the one in charge of you so if I just disappear they'll suspect something immediately and come check the brig." She pulled her wrist out of his grip and straightened up and smiled at him. "I can't leave."

"Then I'll just burn the ship down."

She shook her head, "You're too weak right now, you'll just get us both killed, they'll come after us." Akane began pushing him down and up hallways, "The ship is about to leave port in a few minutes, you'll miss your chance to escape if you keep arguing with me." She lead him towards a large porthole and opened it. "Now go, idiot."

He turned around to look at her with strained eyes. "Thanks." He turned to the side, "And sorry, for what I said."

She bit her lip, "I'm sorry too."

He put one leg through the port hole and used one of his hands to grip onto the metal rim for balance. He looked back at Akane and snaked his free hand to the back of her head, bringing her in so her lips met his.

She closed her eyes as one of her hands went up to rest on his chest. She tilted into the simple kiss but parted from him a few seconds later.

He rested his forehead on hers, his eyes closed and his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm glad, that there are people like you in the Navy. I hope we meet again."

Her lips parted but she hesitated to reply. Ace opened his eyes to look at her and she smiled up at him. Tears blurred her vision, "Yea, let's meet again."

He parted from her and slipped his other leg through the porthole, he gave her one last glance before he would go, "I owe you one."

She shook her head. "No you don't, what's family for right?" He looked at her questioningly but before he could say anything she shoved him out of the porthole. She registered the manly yelp before he fell out of view. Just in time too, she felt the ship rock and begin to move.

A weak smile came to her lips as she began to make her way above deck. The light hit her eyes and she had to shield them with her hand. In the second her sight was blinded, she felt herself tackled to the ground on her stomach. Her arms were roughly placed behind her back and she heard the cold clink of handcuffs on them.

"What's the meaning of this!" She yelled aggressively.

A figure loomed over her and she tilted her head up, squinting her eyes to look into Akainu's.

"You're under arrest for treason against the World Government for releasing a dangerous wanted criminal. Everything in the brig was caught on audio and video transponder snail." He glared down at her with critical eyes. "It's a shame, such a powerful Marine like you being swayed so easily by the words of pirates in only a few weeks." It was almost mocking.

Her eyes widened in fury. "So _this_ was your plan all along. You never wanted to rescue me, you_ waited_, you wanted me to spend time with them!"

He wore a smirk, "You said it yourself didn't you? That I'm manipulative?" He bent down and lifted her from the collar of her kimono, "My mission was to get you back from the pirates, and I did."

She tried her best to give him a toothy grin, blood stained her teeth and ran down her cheek from when she bit her tongue when she was tackled. "Still, I'd never think you'd let go of a wanted criminal just for the sake of a plan."

"You're mistaken, he was _part_ of the plan, and oh Fire First will be executed. Now is not yet the time however." He dragged her from the collar of her shirt, "You on the other hand, are right on schedule." Akainu dragged her below deck, "I never liked the idea of having you in the Navy. Now I can get rid of you once and for all without throwing you over to the other side."

Akane clenched her teeth in fury, "_You bastard_."

"Enjoy your last few days of living, _brat_." He threw her into the brig's cell and locked it, leaving her behind bars. He turned his back to her, facing the door to the brig, "How was your life of pirating?" He asked mockingly.

"Short lived." She retorted raspily.

A heavy thud echoed throughout the empty metal room as the iron door was shut and locked. All alone, Akane lie helplessly on the floor. Defeated, tears began to stream down her face as she choked back sobs.

"Damn it. Damn it. _Damn it_."

She had finally felt truly fulfilled for the first time in years. She thought she found a place where she belonged, only to have it ripped away from her immediately.

She had held back from telling Ace she had accepted Whitebeard's offer. If he had known, she knew he wouldn't let her stay back, she was highly aware about his protectiveness of crew members. But now that they parted without Ace knowing, won't it only seem like she betrayed the crew by going back to the Marines when he returns and tells everyone?

Akane angled her head so she could glare daggers at the small transponder snail on a shelf that she managed to miss before. It's eyes were on her, sending feedback to a screen somewhere else on the ship.

"This is all your fault, you stupid slug."

* * *

_**[**__Broken Crown – Mumford and Sons__**]**_

Ace was making his way through the jungle staggering as fast as he could. That Akainu asshole really did a number on him, he hadn't felt that incapable in a fight since his hundred failed assassination attempts on Pops. He was more than lucky Akane ran into them and let him escape.

Well, it wasn't like she wasn't going to return to the Navy anyway. As much as the thought annoyed him, he knew if he were in her shoes he would do the same. No matter what anyone would offer him, he'd never leave the Whitebeard Pirates, so why would she leave the Navy? As much as he wanted her to stay with him and the crew, it was best for her to choose what she wanted. Atleast... he gave her a proper farewell. He chuckled halfheartedly at the thought. He had said he wanted to kiss her with a sober mind, but for it to be in a scenario like that... wasn't what he had imagined. They were technically enemies though, so they'd definitely meet again someday.

But who was he kidding? He wanted to see her and be with her everyday, just 'someday' wasn't enough. Possessiveness and jealousy be damned. Who cares if he was? He was already well aware of it. He wanted her to be around him and the thought that she wouldn't be anymore infuriated him.

He tripped over a tree root in his muddled state and fell onto a clearing in the jungle. He groaned but didn't make a move to get up. It wouldn't be a bad idea if he just had a small nap right there right? And now that he thought about it, he felt really hungry too... His vision started to blur as he felt something wet nudging at his cheek. He used his last bit of energy to look up and be face to face with a white ball of furry, moustache goodness.

"You found him! Good job Stefan!"

"Oi guys! We found Ace! Over here!"

Ace relieved that his crew mates would watch over him, let himself drift off to sleep, avoiding the problems at hand.

He woke up a couple hours later in the ship's infirmary, all clean and bandaged up. He grunted as he sat up, a heavy feeling of vertigo overwhelming him. A nurse came to his aid and put a hand on his chest and back, keeping him upright. He raised a hand up to signal he was alright and she took a step back, picking up a glass of water, giving it to him and then leaving the room, probably to inform of his waking up.

A few minutes later Thatch and Marco walked in, looking relieved. He smiled and raised a hand in a lazy wave.

Thatch sat down on the edge of the bed, crossing his legs and folding his hands behind his head, "Oh man, what happened to you? You look worse than when Pops beat the shit out of you."

Ace shrugged and looked away irked, "It's not as bad as it looks." He scratched the back of his head and looked sheepish, "And I might have sort of ran into that Admiral Saka-whatever guy."

Thatch only laughed, "I'm surprised you managed to crawl away." He looked at Ace with a teasing smirk.

"I did _not _crawl away. I escaped."

Marco who had been standing there watching the interaction with amusement, spoke up, "Well we gathered all that we need and we don't plan on staying on this island for too long. We were planning on staying longer but with the island covered in so many villages, we can't deal with the Marines properly. As soon as we find Akane we can round up and leave, hopefully she didn't have a run in with them too."

Ace's brows furrowed in confusion, "What are you saying? She already went back to the Marines, that was the deal when we reached the island right?"

A widened-eye exchange flashed between Marco and Thatch. Thatch began to murmur in disbelief, "Ace... wasn't... there, was he."

A worried feeling began to stir in Ace's gut. The air in the room wasn't right.

Marco lunged forward and grabbed Ace's shoulders, yanking him forward. He spoke with urgency, "Ace, what do you mean she returned to the Marines?"

Ace's voice began to rise with uncertainty, "I _mean _she returned to the Marines! She helped me escape and then said she'd take care of it, I even asked if she wanted to come with me but she refused!"

Marco's grip on Ace's shoulders tightened, "What are you saying! Ace, Pops offered her to become a part of the crew and she did, there's no way she would willingly return to the Marines! She wouldn't go back on a promise like that!"

Ace's jaw slackened, "Pops... when..."

Thatch looked away and answered him, "You left early to the island... you missed it."

Ace looked between Marco and Thatch panicked.

"_What's family for right?"_

She... what the hell was she thinking?! His jaw and fists clenched, and his shoulders began to tremble with raw fury. Flames licked off his shoulders and back, lighting his Whitebeard insignia ablaze.

Thatch looked surprised when he saw Ace wear an expression of murderous intent of the likes he's never seen.

Ace gritted his teeth, his voice coming out low and furious, "Who the hell does she think she is, thinking she needs to protect _me_."

* * *

Hahah, so yea, I hoped you guys liked it. :)

I really wondered how Ace would react to everything that has happened in this chapter and I thought I did an okay job on him?

A few things about this chapter:

-I imagine the long boats would be a lot like viking long boats, but designed just a tad bit differently and less fancy since they're only used for short travel from anchored ship to island.

-I always imagine Stefan is a lot like Naga from Korra when I write this, except with a moustache. :D He's a giant fluffy, white, dog. & I know technically he isn't really canon but I really like the addition of him so I like to write him in.

-Ace was furious at Akane when Akainu arrested him because he gave her his trust. Ace is very loyal so when he thought Akane betrayed him and everyone else he was pissed. Plus, he had developed feelings for her, kissed her, and said things to her. I would be livid if I was in that situation too lol

-When Akainu said Ace was part of the plan, it didn't have to necessarily be Ace. I imagine Akainu would use any one of the Whitebeard pirates as bait to see if Akane would betray the Marines or not, it just so happened that it was Ace (since he left the ship earlier and had more time to cross to the other side of the island)

-"Murderous intent of the likes he's never seen"... sound familiar? :D It's a parallel with the first chapter. Except, in the first chapter the anger was directly at Akane, but now the fury is stemming from Akane's actions and Ace caring about her. (Did I word that properly?)

**Replies!**

**Lanny: **Oh im so sorry, this one has even more & I know! I love Thatch, I'm going to write him in a lot. And omg, pranksters... I really need to put that in at some point. Hmm, at this point it isn't much of a brother sister thing, but I think it might develop into that as their relationship progresses. Oh, that happiness is short lived... sorry *bows head*

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan:** Hmm, he probably would have just scared her into joining LOL, like using that big booming voice he used to try and scare Luffy at marineford when he told him to leave. :P & that my dear friend is because of plot devices and the use of foreshadowing :P

**desirae668: **Hey hey I never said that! I just said creeping into canon territory, that can mean anything right? ;D Haha, please do :P Oh, I don't think he did anything! He probably just sat and watched over her for all that time. I just pointed it out because I don't know if people missed that and I thought it was a cute thingy :)

**FluffyDragonsLiveInMyHouse:** Ahh don't cry! D: Pfft, it's just your dirty mind! :P That makes me so happy, I have fanfic readers :') OH *pets dragon* LOL

**Akira-chan: **That makes me really happy to hear, you don't understand. Whenever I write these I think they're mediocre but then you guys are so nice about it and everything ;-; AH DON'T KILL ME D:

That's all for now then. Review? :D 3


	9. Chapter 9: Bird in a Cage

Im back again. I've been very busy lately with school, work, volunteering and personal matter so this chapter was delayed. Not too much happens in it but it was necessary /shrugs

I have a feeling that I will be busy up until Christmas holiday so you can say that this fic will be on semi-hiatus. I will update from time to time but I CANNOT update every week. When I write, I sit down and write the chapter from beginning to end all in one sitting, this usually take 6+ hours from the first step of the process to the end, so I basically need a free day to write, which I luckily had today since it's thanksgiving long weekend. So please, don't try to rush me, I'm glad many of you like the story and are enthusiastic for updates, but it's unrealistic for me to update in such short intervals.

So thank you for continuing on reading this story, I really appreciate it :)

* * *

_**[**__With or Without You - U2__**]**_

Ace threw the covers off of himself and slung his legs over the side of the bed, swiftly getting up and pushing through Marco and Thatch.

"Ace! Calm Down! You can't do anything the way you are right now!" Marco said, trying to hold Ace back from the door by wrapping his arms around the other man's shoulder and attempting to pull him back towards the bed.

"Damn it Marco, let me go!" This was all his own fault in the first place, he had let her stay on the Marine ship when he should have argued with her and brought her back. The flames that danced brilliantly on his shoulders wavered, he looked down at the wooden plank flooring, his anger turning to dismay. "I need to fix this."

Thatch took a step closer to Ace, holding his hands up, palms facing forward as a sign of peace. "You can- no, _we_ can fix this, all together, but for now you need to sit down Ace. You just woke up, you're tired and you're not in your right mind."

Ace stopped trying to fight against them and stood up straight, looking up from the ground to look both of them in the eyes, he grit his teeth and his brows furrowed, "It's my fault this happened. She tried to protect me and now it's in my debt." His eyes lowered, "So move out of my way."

Marco and Thatch looked at each other for a moment before Marco spoke, "We can talk to Pops about what to do." Maybe that could get Ace to calm down.

There was silence for a few moments before the flames licking at Ace's shoulders finally died down and he took a deep breath, "Alright."

"Alright?" Marco questioned.

"Alright."

"Good. Let's go then." The blonde said as he nodded his head towards the door as a motion for them to start walking.

The walk to the deck was quiet between the three brothers, there was too much to say and yet not much at all. When they reached the deck faces slowly turned to meet the sight of the roughed up Second Division Commander. Ace ignored the inquiring stares as he kept his eyes on the man sitting on the giant throne as he made a beeline to stand in front of him alongside Marco and Thatch.

Whitebeard looked Ace over and grunted, "Ace, you've been getting roughed up quite a lot lately." His only response from Ace was him looking away, off to the side, with a look that showed a bit of annoyance.

Marco interjected, knowing that he needed to get right to the point, "Pops, we think Miss Akane might be in trouble yoi."

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow to motion him to continue, this time Thatch spoke up, "Ace ran into Akainu. Apparently she stepped in at some point and let Ace go, saying she would take care of it."

That large man took a swig of his sake before answering, "It's not like you to leave behind a comrade Ace." Directing his attention toward his son that was standing in between the two others.

Ace's shoulders began to shake and he looked directly at his father but then dropped his gaze to the floor, his voice was low and seeped through clenched teeth, "I didn't _know._" He looked up to Whitebeard again, his eyes filled with desperation and anger, "I didn't know Pops! So that's why I have to-"

Whitebeard lifted a hand from it's place on his armrest to stop Ace from talking. "That's enough Ace. I think I understand what's going on here." He side glanced at Stefan who had been sitting by the side of his throne the entire time, "It's possible that the girl simply used the situation as a means to an end to escape," Ace looked up at him again, ready to argue, "However, if Akane had any hostile or secret intentions, Stefan would have caught on to it."

Ace stared at a point on the deck, thinking back to when Akane ran into him with Stefan. "Stefan was trying to stop her from getting any closer, he was trying to protect her..." He continued to recall the memory, "And then she turned to Stefan and said something, then after that Stefan just backed away from her."

A small whimper could be heard from the white furry ball sitting curled up by his owner's throne, "But Stefan would never just back away from something, which means he knew her intentions were honest in wanting to protect you. He trusted her." Whitebeard finished where Ace's thoughts were trailing with the memory.

Thatch's eyebrows knitted with worry, "So where do we go from here? What now?"

Whitebeard contemplated it for a few seconds, "Nothing. For now at least."

Ace's mouth gaped and his voice raised with accusation, "How could we do nothing! She's part of the family right? Then we have to go get her back!"

Whitebeard closed his eyes, careful in how he worded his answer. Knowing Ace's hotheaded temper, he would do something unpredictable. "I never said we would not, did I?" Ace's shoulders slumped, "However now is not the right time to act. Akane had boarded the Marine vessel a few hours ago, we have no leads on where it could be headed either." He took a gulp of sake, "Aside from that, all of you seem to have forgotten that she most likely hasn't actually been caught yet. Akane is a former Marine Captain, her presence on a vessel wouldn't be odd. The only way they would know she no longer held ties towards them is if they have some sort of evidence against her."

"She was in charge of throwing me in the brig and I disappeared from the ship, isn't that evidence enough?" Ace asked.

Whitebeard sighed deeply, "We don't know that yet."

Ace huffed in irritation and began to walk to the railings of the ship. Good, they had brought back his Striker as well. His small boat was tied to the Moby Dick with a rope. "Well I'm not just gonna stick around and wait till she's dead to find out." He placed his orange hat that had been hanging carelessly by a string around his neck on his head, "This is my own personal debt to pay. I'll deal with it myself."

Everyone who had been witnessing the conversation on deck began to crowd around where Ace was, all of them shouting arguments to make him stop.

"Ace, think rationally about what you're doing." Jozu said, stepping beside Ace but not blocking his path towards Striker.

"Come on Ace, you're still beat up and hurt, you can't do much on your own right now!" Thatch added in, the worry raising his tone.

Call and shouts sounded from all around the deck, trying to get the Second Division Commander to stop from leaving. Ace was touched, that his family cared so much about someone like him, but he already made up his mind. "Sorry guys. Pops." Without another word he leaped over the railing and landed inside the Striker, using his dagger to cut the rope that tied it to the Moby Dick. Using the flames bursting through his feet, he sped away from the ship, hearing calls coming from behind him.

"Ace! Wait yoi!"

"You idiot! Come back!"

"You heard Pops didn't you!?"

A part of him wanted to stay; to be with his family, to eat a giant meal, and to sleep off his injuries, but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't because he now knew that the person he left behind was also a part of that family now, and he did nothing to try and protect her. He gritted his teeth. This was the second time she had saved his life. The first time she did, when she saved him from drowning, he refused to admit it, not wanting to owe a debt to someone who wasn't even part of his crew. But this time, he couldn't deny it even if he tried, Akane had gone too far for him this time. What was with her anyway? Did she have some sort of martyr complex?

Thoughts continued to invade his mind as he made his way back to the island, heading straight for the river passing through it instead of going around. The Striker was small enough to maneuver easily in the slim bend of water and it was much faster than going around the circular island.

With Striker's speed he quickly crossed the island and was far gone back out on the ocean when he spotted a Navy vessel floating around in the distance. Ace's eyes lowered and burst more flames from his feet to propel the boat forward.

He made it to the ship in no time. Using the remaining piece of rope tied around the mast from before, he stuck the end of it to the ship, using his dagger to keep it in place.

He hopped up onto the ship's railing, already expecting the worst case scenario, like that Akainu guy waiting for him. But when he scanned the deck, all he saw were the shocked faces of foot soldier Marines. Well maybe he had a bit more luck than he thought.

"Where is she?" He asked intimidatingly, trying to get the answer out of them. He was at an advantage at this point. He was made of fire and had a way to escape. If the Marines had any sense they would realize he could blow them to smithereens.

"Ah... is that... Fire fist?!" One of them yelled with panic.

"He came back?"

"Fire!"

The soldiers all shot at him, which was something Ace would never understand, considering they knew he was a logia user. The bullets passed through his body as it morphed into flames. The shower of bullets stopped after about a minute when the soldiers all ran out of rounds.

Ace was not in the best of moods to say the least and he had no patience to deal with bullshit like this. He lowered his head just enough so the rim of his hat concealed the look in his eyes, "I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is she."

"If you're talking about that traitor, she's no longer on this ship." A marine that looked to be a bit of higher rank than the others spoke up.

Ace's glare turned deadly, "What do you mean she's no longer here." No... they couldn't have already...

"We have no obligation to give any further information to a pirate." The ranking Marine officer replied curtly.

In an instant, Ace burst into bright, hot flames and flew across the deck, materializing in front of the officer. He swiftly grabbed the man's collar and yanked him forward until his piercing gaze was mere inches away from the other man's terrified one.

Ace's voice dropped to a low menacing growl, "I think you do."

The Marine stood frightened in Ace's vice grip and his eye's that screamed bloody murder. "S-she was transferred... to another ship..." The man answered hesitantly and shakily.

Surprise and relief flashed across Ace's eyes for a moment, "What? Where?"

"A c-couple hours ago, Admiral Akainu had transferred with her onto another vessel. H-he didn't say anything else."

Ace let out a grunt of frustration and released his grip on the Marine, striding off back to the railing and leaping over it. Grabbing the dagger and releasing the rope, he began to sail away from the ship.

He was livid, and everything was tipping him off, at the very least Akane wasn't dead yet. Muttering curses under his breath, he made a sharp turn so he was facing the side of the Navy vessel again. "Useless." His fist exploded into flames and he thrust it forward, sending a mass of fire towards the ship. The ship exploded with the force of the fire slamming into it's side, and the cries of the soldiers were drowned in it. The sight only managed to satisfy his anger on a miniscule degree. He watched the scene for a moment longer before he turned Striker around and headed forward.

If they said Akainu transferred her and only her onto another ship, there was no doubt in Ace's mind that she had already been found out. But where would they send a Marine officer that committed treason? He doubted it would be Impel down, the prison was used for the worst possible criminals out there waiting to be given their sentence or executed. The punishment for treason was immediate execution, so there was no need to hold her in Impel down. Then where...? It dawned on him and his eyes widened then quickly narrowed. Marineford.

* * *

_**[**__Vogel im Kafig - Piano__**]**_

Akane lay on the metal floor of the dark room, her tears dry and spent. She didn't know how much time had passed since she was first thrown in the brig but when the iron door opened, her eyes hurt from the light entering the room. She squinted and fought her instincts to shut her eyes in favour of finding out who was there.

It didn't surprise her when she saw that it was Akainu standing at the door to the cell. He unlocked it and walked in, gripping her upper arm and lifting her up to her feet like she weighed less than a feather.

The scowling man grunted and began to drag her out of the brig and led her back up to the deck without a word. Her eyes burned when the bright sun hit her eyes. She let herself be dragged until they reached the railing of the ship. In a moment of panic, Akane feared that he would throw her overboard while she was still handcuffed so she would inevitably drown, but then she looked up from the floor to see another large Navy vessel anchored beside theirs. Standing behind the other ship's railings was Admiral Kizaru, waiting expectantly for the two of them, apparently.

Akane already had quite a good idea of what was going on and sighed in defeat. If the Whitebeard pirates were by any chance trying to come after her, there was no way they'd be able to track her down now.

Akainu looked over his shoulder to address a Marine officer of lower rank that was standing behind him, "You are to sail around offshore of Helios until given orders otherwise not to."

"Yes sir!"

Akane peered questioningly at the man gripping her arm. What kind of a vague order was that? But before she could think any longer of it, she felt air born. As quickly as it happened, it ended. Akainu landed solidly on the other ship's deck while she fell forcefully to the floor on her side.

Her head hit the wooden floor and her vision was jarred for an instant until she could focus again. Her ears tuned in to the two Admirals conversation.

"Hmm? Leaving them as bait are we huh?"

"It will leave us with more time to get distance from the pirates, is that a problem?"

Kizaru put his hands up in a mock surrender, "Of course not, why would I hm? Do what you want, yes?"

Akane's eyes widened in shock, she began to speak before she could filter her words, "You're... leaving them to die, on purpose." Her words were quiet murmurs and she was still on the floor, but the two Admirals had heard her.

Akainu grunted and lifted her to her feet for the second time that day, "You have more things to worry about at this point wouldn't you say."

Her face scrunched up in anger, "You're leaving them to die! You know they'll get killed!"

He scowled down at her, "It's all for the sake of the greater good. Them waiting around here will give us extra time to get distance from the pirates and in the end will ultimately lead to your successful execution."

Frustration welled up in her throat, "Then why didn't you stay back as well huh?! Is it because you think you're above this justice that you speak of?!"

Her head snapped to the side when a palm made hard contact with her cheek. "Silence, brat. If I were to die that would do nothing for the greater good of the world now would it?"

She snarled. His narcissism was on an amazingly god-like level, it would seem. Akane wasn't quite sure what was getting into her, maybe it was the fact that she knew she would end up dead in the end anyway, but she argued back with the terrifyingly powerful man. "What's this greater good that you constantly speak of! All I ever see come out of your actions is pain and death in your path! What's the point of a better future if the present we live in is a hell! Absolute justice... Isn't justice at all! You speak of justice but you refuse to give it to those who need it the most! YOU'RE WILLING TO LET YOUR SUBORDINATES DIE UNKNOWINGLY FOR THE SAKE OF A PLAN WHILE YOU GET TO ESCAPE THE SITUATION FREELY! WHAT KIND OF A JUSTICE IS THAT!"

The grip around her upper arm turned searingly hot and she shrieked as the hand around her began to turn a hot red. "I believe I told you to be silent, you _bitch_."

She felt the searing hand turn hotter and a scream caught in her throat, she let out a strangled yell as she felt her skin melting off. Akane instinctively began to try and wriggle out of the vice grip, but to no avail.

The hand on her upper arm returned to normal, but her arm still felt painfully hot, and she was quite sure she felt her own muscles cooking. She choked back a sob. Getting thrown a punch was durable, even getting a cut from a sword was bearable in circumstances, but never had she ever been _roasted_ before and for once she was glad that her execution would be a quick slice of her head.

She looked up shakily to see that Kizaru had placed a hand on Akainu's shoulder. "Now now, we wouldn't want her to die before an actual execution now would we hmm?" He spoke with an unnaturally fake smile.

"Of course. I merely wanted to melt her arm off." He sneered down at her, "It would make a lovely match with her father would it not?"

Akane stood frozen. _What?_ What was he even saying... Her father, they knew him? No, that's... "You're bluffing" She growled.

"Oh am I?" He smirked, but released her arm, pushing her over to Kizaru. "Lock her up, Borsalino." He looked down at her once more, "This ship is heavily guarded so you won't have to worry about any more disturbances on your way to Marineford." The arrogant and triumphant smirk he wore showed the true nature of the statement however; that she didn't have to hope for anyone to save her.

She didn't say another word to him as she began to walk off with Kizaru. Akane walked past all the Marines that stood and watched her warily, but she kept looking onward and ignored them.

When they walked down the stairs to get below deck, she visibly relaxed knowing that she was out of the world's eye. She felt the heat and pain radiating off her arm and reluctantly looked down at the flesh wound.

She regretted she did to say the least. Akane nearly gagged at the sight of it. Almost the entirety of her upper left arm's clothing fabric and _skin_ was melted off and her muscles were visible, some parts still sizzling and bubbling. The most disturbing part of it was that there was no blood pouring down her arm or gushing out onto the floor, her arm was literally _cooked_. Her nose scrunched up at the smell, her own arm smelt like a steak dinner. She could feel the pain from her arm yet she couldn't move it or_ feel_ it. It felt like her arm wasn't there but the pain was.

Her brows furrowed. She knew it was silly to worry considering she would be dead in a matter of time anyway, but the thought of not being able to use her arm again sent an uncomfortably sickening feeling straight to her gut. Also... that comment about her father. It had to be a bluff. She didn't even know who her father was, so how could he? And how did he know that he father only had one arm?

She eyed the tall man walking beside her. She had known Kizaru for quite awhile now and she actually took a liking to the man, she even had accompanied him on one or two missions. Admiral Kizaru was never one to argue and he usually went with the flow of things unless he felt like doing otherwise.

He wasn't as forceful or rough with her as Akainu had been leading her here, Kizaru didn't even bother to keep an eye on her, knowing she would follow him anyway.

Knowing Kizaru's nature, she knew she might be able to get some answers out of him if she merely asked. Akane strode forward so she was walking in step with the Admiral. If her sudden movement made him curious, he didn't show it.

"Mister Kizaru."

"Hmm?"

She looked to the side as she tried to word her question properly, "Why are you going through so much just to get rid of me? Why... wager the lives of so many soldiers just to give me a formal execution? Wouldn't it be simpler and more efficient just to kill me off right now?" Akane looked to the floor, "Why go through all this trouble, I am, in hindsight, not worth much to the Navy after all."

Kizaru hummed and contemplated her numerous questions for a moment, "Hm, it would seem that way I suppose because you are unaware of what you're truly worth I'd say eh?"

Akane looked up at him questioningly, it was hard to follow a conversation when she felt her arm becoming a slow roast. "My worth?"

Kizaru looked like he was going to answer her but they had already reached the brig. He opened the heavy iron door with one hand, the other on the middle of her back, guiding her into the dark prison.

"Well you'll find out soon enough, yea?" She scowled at his answer. If she had only just a bit more time with the man she was sure she would be able to get answers, but he was already locking her behind the bars and beginning to walk away.

She sighed, at least he didn't try to melt her arm off. Her face scrunched up in pain. Now that she was alone in the dark, all her senses were focused on the radiating pain from her left arm. She tried her best to ignore it, seeing as it would be quite the ride till they reached Marineford. A couple days if she wasn't wrong.

She laid down on her right side and sighed in defeat. Though she could blame Akainu or even Ace for the predicament she was in, she knew that in the end, it was her fault and her own choices that lead her to this point. She _could _have ran away with Ace when she was letting him escape, even if it would have cut their escape time in half. Akane chuckled dejectedly, or so she _thought_ it would at the time. If she had left with him, they both could have left without a problem, seeing as the Marines were waiting for her above deck to arrest her.

It was her fault and no one else, she knew that much. She made her mistakes and because of the path in life she chose to follow, she would pay dearly for it. But she resigned to her fate. No one would come to rescue her and she couldn't escape. She began to laugh almost manically at the situation she was in. It wouldn't be anyone's fault but hers if no one tried to save her because she never let anybody close enough to her. Even those who she had somewhat of a relationship with would assume she betrayed them because she left without giving the truth.

Her laughs turned to choked sobs. She didn't want the Whitebeard pirates to hate her or resent her for thinking she betrayed them. If she had to die then the only thing she would want them to know is that the last thing she would ever think of doing is betray them. They were the first group of people she had ever felt a bond with since her village was destroyed.

They had crept into her heart and changed her, she was even willing to change her entire life just so she could continue to stay with them. The only reason she had gone through all this trouble was for them.

Fate loved being cruel with her.

* * *

Night had painted the sky a navy blue with the stars shining brightly in the sky. It was a beautiful night but the deck was quiet from it's usual festivities.

Other than the fact that the newest addition to their family was nowhere to be found or tracked, Ace had yet to return as well after his burst of anger.

Marco leaned against the side of Whitebeard's chair, arms crossed and his usually relaxed face wearing a tinge of worry. "Pops, what should we do?"

Whitebeard looked at all of his sons who were quietly doing their jobs or sitting on the deck and closed his eyes. "There is not much we can do at the moment but wait. We have no trace of the vessel Akane was put on and Ace could be anywhere what with the speed of Striker." He paused for a moment and looked at Marco who didn't seem at ease with the answer, "Executions happen at Marine Headquarters. We don't know when, but we can be sure that Akane will be there at some point. It would take a few days to reach Marineford from this part of the Ocean, and executions for treason happen almost immediately since there is no need for a trial. We can assume that her execution will be sometime next week then."

Marco's brows knitted together, that answer didn't ease him at all.

* * *

A few things about this chapter:

-Akane's arrest is NOT a replacement for Ace's capture in the canon verse. This is all happening before the Alabasta arc still, so they are two entirely different events. Yes, this whole deal with Akane will inevitably alter what happens in the Marineford war, or disallow it to happen all together, but they are still separate events! Even if there were some parallels, like Ace leaving the Moby Dick alone.

-Yes, that was the reason Stefan was told to be with Akane. He's a dog so his senses are much better than a humans and Whitebeard made Akane go with him so in case of a problem he could figure out what was going on

-Ace has a temper, and he's a pirate, I don't put it past him to blow a ship up that's filled with people. Heck, in Alabasta he blew up an entire fleet while he grinned.

-Akane got really angry with what Akainu was doing because it was all tied to her. It's not that she personally holds ties with marines, but she isn't one to let an entire ship die without giving her opinion when it was all her fault they were dying in the first place.

-What I was trying to get with this is that both Ace and Akane both blame themselves entirely for what had happened, and that it's all their fault

**Replies!**

**Savage Kill: **LOL most definitely she will. The whitebeard pirates don't take very well to someone thinking they need to protect the strongest pirate crew in the world. & I imagine Stefan as big as Naga from legend of korra if that helps with imagining it (:

**desirae668: **Pft, well I never implied anything either then. & he really does! I haven't had much time yet to develop their friendship/relationship thing so it doesn't quite show yet but in future chapters I will add in more stuff for the two of them. I'm glad that you like it so much. (:

**pinksnail: **Awwww /rolls around/ That makes me feel so great you don't even know! Sometimes I just look back on the chapters I wrote and just sigh at how badly I write but when you say that at least I know some people think it's good. Thank you! :*

**Akira-chan: **Im glad you enjoy it (:

**FluffyDragonsLiveInMyHouse: **That's for me to know and for you to find out in later chapters /evil laughter LOL yes, she'll have to deal with quite a few Q&A's when she gets back

**Lanny: **I LOVE STEFAN A LOT TOO, it's why I keep adding him into chapters even though he really isn't a main character or even canon, which is quite silly of me considering im leaving out important characters like some of the important commanders and people like blackbeard. Heehee, I was blushing and feeling second hand embarrassment when I wrote that part, I felt so bad for her. He is a bastard, and I hope this chapter made you hate him even more :D & of course, I love the ball of fluff so I'll try to include him when I can

And again, Im glad that you're all enjoying the story and you're reviewing frequently, but please try to keep your reviews constructive rather than violent? I get that you guys want me to update the chapters weekly, but again, I can't, and getting pressuring comments like that make me very stressed on top of everything. Other than that, keep reviewing! I love hearing feedback from you guys and you guys are really awesome devoted followers, thank you. (:

P.S. You guys can make suggestions! People have already made suggestions like Thatch and Akane playing pranks on crew members, Ace and Akane rematch, and adding Stefan more to the story. If you'd like to see something happen in the story, don't be afraid to request! As long as it isn't something you think will change the plot massively (So mostly things that are playful scenes, little filler moments or quirks and stuff like that) because it also gives me some writing ideas that help move along the story. I haven't added in the suggestions yet but I really like the so I probably will at some point. I can't promise I'll add all of them, but I like hearing your ideas and headcanons (:

So yea, that's basically it, thanks for reading!

Review? :*


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